


Parallel Universe

by Starmiyus



Category: Hey! Say! JUMP
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Gaming, Hate to Love, Hints of other relationships, Lots of internet friends fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Office AU, Poor attempt at slight angst, Sexual Tension, Sexual jokes/implications throughout, Slow Burn, explicit sex in later chapters, social influencer, some alcohol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:33:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 121,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23486119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starmiyus/pseuds/Starmiyus
Summary: Ryosuke, known as Kurusuke online, is addicted to an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) and meets someone, Yujikku, quickly becoming friends and integrating him into his gaming circle. He loves talking to him, anticipating every minute together, his real identity separate.At the same time, he meets the popular social influencer boy in town, Yuto, whom he dislikes, a stroke of unluckiness bringing them together in the same company with him as his boss. He hates talking to him, dreading every minute together, his online identity separate.Little does he know, Yujikku and Yuto are more similar than he realizes.
Relationships: Nakajima Yuto/Yamada Ryosuke
Comments: 102
Kudos: 123





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hihi! I started this months ago but I finally decided to start posting it even though it's not completely finished yet since I miss them and I'm sure others do too c:  
> Apologizes for any mistakes, I hope you enjoy~

FAILED.

Ryosuke sighs as he blinks back at the large red letters glaring back at him on the screen, throwing his head back as he rubs his eyes, strained from staring at the screen for too long in the darkness of his room, illuminated only by the light of his computer screen. Exhaustion was starting to kick in but he knew he shouldn’t consume another energy drink when it was this late at night, his sleep schedule already poor enough.

“I’m telling you guys, we need another person for this dungeon.” Daiki’s voice sounded clearly annoyed through his headphones, tired and frustrated. “My shield isn’t tanky enough to absorb all that damage.”

“We should be fine, as long as we all survive that stupid whirlwind attack at the half way point. And if our healer stops dying.” Ryosuke groaned back, equally as tired as he clicks the revive button to bring his character back to life.

“Shut up, it’s both of you guys’ faults for not breaking that totem pole in time for that attack! We’re all dying to it, you can’t blame me.” Chinen countered back at his discord friends, a pout clear. “We wouldn’t be in this mess if we only had more damage. I'm only a support.”

They’ve been trying to kill this boss for hours now, unable to do it with the three of them but every time they try to get more people to help them, they only get weak or inexperienced players looking for strong people to carry them through the fight, always dying in the first minute then leaving the party, starting the search process all over again. It takes too long to even find someone willing to join their party.

“You know how it is everytime we try to recruit a random person into the party.” Ryosuke bit his bottom lip, ideally wanting to clear this with just the three of them, but it’s clear that it’s impossible without at least a fourth person. “Okay fine, I’ll try to grab someone, and if that doesn’t work, we're just going to call it a night and try again tomorrow.”

The three friends were in their own guild called ‘Chibis’ in a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) called ‘Jump Party’ with Yamada Ryosuke (Kurusuke) being the leader then Chinen Yuri (Sabonen) and Arioka Daiki (Daikingu) as the co leaders. They were a small guild, having some other players, but they’re less active than they are. They are able to clear most dungeons with just the three of them anyways, occasionally needing more people for the tougher ones, like this one. They were all max leveled at 100 and have been playing together for years, coordinating well as a team. While they play other games together, Jump Party was their main fixtation, never running out of monsters or bosses to kill, trying to collect everything they can.

They covered the three important classes needed for a good team: Ryosuke as a knight, the main DPS (damage per second), with swift and powerful sword skills. Daiki as a paladin, the hp and defense heavy tank, with slow but strong axe attacks. Chinen as a priest, the healer, supporting his teammates from a distance keeping them alive… or letting them die out of spite.

There were other classes like the archer or the gunner, but they were more seen as fun classes rather than necessary classes.

Ryosuke sighs into his mic, purposely loud and long enough for the other two to hear him over their voice call on discord. They all met online years ago and it was a surprise for them to find out that they don’t live too far from each other and were around the same age, around 20, still playing video games late into the night as grown adults, closer friends than any of their real life friends.

They are often busy with work and their personal lives, but they’re still able to get together in person on occasion and have a good time when they’re not playing games online. Of course, when they did meet up in person there would always be at least one game involved. Thankfully portable systems exist.

Ryosuke teleports his character into a popular town where he knew people liked to hang out and chat, spamming messages to the world trying to recruit a decently leveled person for the dungeon they’re trying to clear, but as expected, he was ignored.

It’s a new dungeon for high leveled people, but it’s far tougher than it should be and has several glitches, most people ignoring its release until the game developers decide to fix it. But the Chibis are determined to clear it before it changes, even if it’s difficult to find people with experience with it and know at least some of the mechanics, proven by how many people die stupidly early into the fight.

“Look, no one is-” He was about to give up finding someone when he received a notification on the bottom of his screen, letting him know someone privately messaged him. “Oh wait, someone whispered me.” 

“Who? What does it say? Are they strong?” Chinen asked enthusiastically, full of hope.

“Slow down Chi, someone called 'Yujikku’. Let me read it.” Ryosuke rolls his eyes, reading it out loud for his two friends to hear.

_Yujikku: Hey, saw you looking for another person for the Cherry Blossom Dungeon? Me and one of my guild members were looking for a couple of people, if you and your party want to team up with us? :)_

“I don’t see why not, having two more people would definitely make this easier.” Daiki replies, eager to start again.

“Yeah, let’s go with them.” Chinen agrees. “I swear Yujikku sounds like a pretty familiar name though.”

“Fine, I’ll let him know we’re in.” Ryosuke writes a quick message back to Yujikku saying to join them at the dungeon entrance in channel 9, as he teleports back to where his waiting friends are.

_Yujikku: Sweet, we’ll be on our way!_

Ryosuke didn’t bother to respond, already impatient as he prays that this run goes well. He usually doesn’t mind playing with random people but he’s had a long, rough day, too frustrated to deal with more people going off and dying at the first hit and he just wants to clear this.

Hopefully these two aren’t like that as well.

Two people appeared after a short period of time, Yujikku, an archer, with rapid combos plus team wide skill haste and strength buffs, and Yuyaseba, a knight like him.

“Oh dude! That’s right! Yujikku and Yuyaseba are super famous in this game, look, they’re from Kemono.” Chinen realises as he sees them appear next to them.

Kemono was a large, famous guild in the game, known to have the strongest people in the game while also being kind enough to help newer players. The highly strict requirements for joining make it incredibly difficult to join, only accepting the best of the best. If these two are part of the guild, that must mean they are incredibly strong and experienced players.

“Kemono? This is going to be a piece of cake with these two on our team!” Daiki cracks his knuckles, ready to play.

Ryosuke invites them to their party, realizing that both of them were max leveled like them, except they had the strongest upgraded gear available and were much stronger despite being the same level. They also had all sorts of fancy looking accessories and effects purely for aesthetic purposes that had to be bought with real money.

Chances of them being pay to win players? 100%.

_Yujikku: Thanks for inviting us :)_

_Sabonen: Glad to have you both with us!_

_I hope Kuru doesn’t disappoint and die on us_

“Chi! I’m not going to die. Probably.” Ryosuke scolds him, Chinen only laughing in response.

_Yuyaseba: I’m sure things will be fine, let’s hurry_

_Kurusuke: Alright, let’s do this, I’m going in_

As the five players enter the dungeon, Ryosuke’s hands sweat as the opening scene plays for the nth time that day.

Maybe this one will be the one.

“Chinen! I need heals!” Daiki calls out, taking a heavy attack as his hp drops considerably, blocking and absorbing most of the damage so that his team members can survive.

Ryosuke’s fingers fly across his keyboard, the keys clicking as he expertly times his attacks and blocks, his focus fully trained on the boss’s attack pattern, immersed in the setting. Games have been his entire life, always keeping him sane and having something to do. He excels in all types of games, practicing over and over again in every type of game he could get his hands on.

“Yeah! Lightning Striker!” he yells out the skill he was using, feeling more powerful as if he were in the game itself.

With Yujikku’s buffs and Yuyaseba’s strength, the battle goes quicker than expected with zero mistakes made, the boss’s health bar getting to the halfway point in no time.

“The totem pole is coming up! Watch out for it!” Ryosuke saved his attack skills for this, hoping to take the giant pole down to stop the powerful attack that comes after if it isn’t destroyed in time. 

As Ryosuke warned, the totem pole came up, the whole party moving over to attack it as the boss charges up it’s ultimate attack. It turns out that having two extra strong members really helps, the pole going down rather easily.

“YES!” Ryosuke cheered as it went down. “But now what?”

The three Chibis members never made it this far and there weren’t any guides or videos online yet that told them since it was a new dungeon so they had no idea what was happening next.

_Yujikku: Left_

Ryosuke had read the message too late and happened to be on the wrong side, panicking as he gets blasted by the boss, his health dropping to zero in an instant.

“Oh. That isn’t good.” Ryosuke groaned as his character fell to the floor dead, a tombstone over his dead body as he could only watch the other four continue to attack. “I wish they were in our voice call so that wouldn’t have happened.”

The rest of the battle goes pretty smoothly, some screams here and there as Daiki almost dies several times, but the boss finally falls, resulting in cheers as they collect their loot. 

_Daikingu: Whew, thank you guys for helping us, we couldn’t do it with just us three_

_Yuyaseba: No problem!_

_We needed it as well and our other 2 regular members we do this with are busy doing other stuff irl_

_Yujikku: You guys did well, it’s pretty easy once you get used to the attack rotation and get past that half way mark_

_Sabonen: Yeah it wasn’t bad, too bad a certain someone died lol_

Ryosuke rolled his eyes at that, hearing Chinen cackling.

_Kurusuke: We never made it to that part before!_

_You guys were just lucky you were on the left side already_

_Yujikku: You did good too Kurusuke, next time you know how it goes and we’ll be able to clear it much faster!_

_If you need more clears, I’ll be happy to join for more runs some other time. I do have to go now though. Thanks again for the successful run <3 _

Ryosuke smiles at the praise and agrees that they should do more runs together. They all say their rounds of goodbyes to each other, and Ryosuke notices that he received a new friend request.

_Friend Request: Yujikku._

He clicks to accept it.

“I cannot believe we actually got to play with two people from Kemono and they even said we did good, how did you even get them? Especially Yuyaseba, he’s known to be suuuper cool.” Chinen rambles with some longing in his voice. 

“Like I said earlier, Yujikku just whispered me and asked if he and his guildmate could join us when I was out trying to recruit people, nothing else.” Ryosuke frowned, curious about what's so special about these two. “Of course I know of Kemono, but I’ve never heard of those two players before, are they really that popular?”

“Both of them are quite popular, especially with women. Though I did hear that Yuyaseba has an online boyfriend because of how popular he is.” Daiki laughed. "Wouldn't it be hilarious if one of us starts dating one of them through the game?"

Ryosuke laughed at the idea of having an online relationship. He couldn’t imagine falling in love with someone through a game and not being able to be physical with them. He would probably go crazy and be so needy for attention since he would want to go out and see them whenever he can. Besides, he wants to put most of his efforts into gaming, not worrying about dating.

“What if they’re just really old men trying to catfish people or something?” he jokes, knowing that people often hide their true selves behind a screen.

He does it all the time.

“They stream their raids on Twitch sometimes and upload some videos on the tube, I’ve watched some and I’m pretty sure they didn’t sound like old men.” Chinen mentions. “Do you think we’ll actually become friends with them? Wouldn't that be awesome if we did?”

“Who knows. Maybe we will.” Ryosuke says with a smile, although he likes it when it’s just them three, his only close friends. “I should probably also head out and make some food, so I’ll talk to you guys later.” Ryosuke says goodbye to his friends logging out of the game and discord.

He’s been sitting in the same position for most of the day and he hasn’t eaten in hours, but he’s too lazy to actually cook something up so he just boils some water for some cup ramen sitting in his pantry. He knows that he has a shift at his part time job tomorrow, but he ignores it as he sits in front of his computer again to pull up some random show to watch as he eats his meal.

He wonders if he should try to learn more about Kemono and watch some of their videos, but he didn’t see any point.

They’re just regular people just like him, right?

Nothing special.

He’ll just play more games into the night on his own.

~~~

The next morning, Ryosuke wakes up, still drowsy, having stayed up late playing video games, as he always does. He looked at the time on his phone, seeing it read 12:43 pm and noticing he has some text messages, but he doesn’t feel like opening them, nodding and putting it back down, reluctantly rolling out of bed to get dressed and hobble over to the bathroom to brush his teeth, trying to smooth his bed hair.

Ryosuke is 24 years old, yet he doesn’t have a proper job, lives alone in a single apartment room, barely making it by with his job at the nearby convenience store, where he has been working since his high school years. By now, he’s quite close to the elderly couple who own the store, treating him like a beloved son and giving him the extra push he needs, or in this case, money. His parents help at times by sending him money, but he prefers to try being independent from them after graduating university a couple years ago.

He knows he needs to get a better job, but he hasn’t had much luck with his university degree in computer science, mainly because he wants to go specifically into game design, wanting to create things that will make other people happy, like how games do for him.

It was more difficult than he expected.

He’s made a couple apps before, hoping that some company would notice him, but so far, there’s been nothing.

“My shift is today, huh? Let’s see, when is it again? 10 or something? Sounds right.” he mumbled to himself, scratching his head, his hand slowing down as his half asleep brain slowly connected the dots.

“Fuck.”

He immediately grabs his phone, seeing messages from the old man running the store asking where he was, typing out multiple apologies that he had overslept and promising to take extra shifts in the future to make up for it. He must have forgotten to set an alarm since he was busy playing his games last night. It’s too late now to go now, praying that the old man will go easy on him, remembering the last time he missed a shift and got scolded for 2 hours straight and had to work extra hours. He usually works later in the day but he wanted to try taking earlier shifts so he isn’t sleeping until the afternoon.

Like he did today.

Pushing his thoughts of work away, he needed to get some food as his stomach made a whale noise, getting ready before walking through his small town to get something quick and easy to fuel him up for the afternoon.

He was standing in front of a fast food restaurant, debating if he should go for a cheeseburger and fries or if he should be watching his diet more, when someone rushed out of the building, a bag of food and some papers in his hand, bumping into him and almost spilling said items. 

“Watch where you’re going!” Ryosuke snaps, looking down at his clothes to see if anything spilled on him.

“Ow.” the taller male barely glances at him for a second before bowing a couple of times then rushing off.

Not even an apology, how rude. Why was he in such a rush anyways?

Ryosuke watches him run off in the distance, realizing that person wasn’t just anyone, but _the_ Nakajima Yuto, aka some popular social media influencer that moved into his small town a couple of years ago. He mostly runs an instagram account to post the aesthetic photos he takes but also uses Twitter and Youtube where he posts about his life and gets money for it from his millions of subscribers. He gained popularity quickly with his pretty face but his fanbase is toxic and Ryosuke hated it.

He quickly glances around him, making sure there weren’t any girls who were part of his crazy fan club watching and getting ready to jump him for “hurting” their precious “Yutti”, relieved to see no one around. It’s happened before, where he coincidentally was in the presence of Yuto in a grocery store and girls ended up pulling him to the side to yell at him for “breathing his air”.

It was disgusting how fangirls acted.

Honestly, he hates successful people like Yuto, envious that he gets so much money from just making posts on the internet while others have to work hard for it. He always stands in the spotlight effortlessly and can make people of any gender melt with a glance and faint with a flash of a smile. He’s just so well put together and always knew what he was doing, the competitive side in him wanting to fight back and take him down for no reason. Ryosuke wanted to be famous when he was younger, but he had difficulty making friends at school since he preferred to be indoors, making more friends online, like the Chibis.

Ryosuke never understood how people could be that popular, who would like such a tall, intelligent, hot… okay _maybe_ he admits that Yuto is a little attractive.

A tall model with black hair, mostly parted in the middle but sometimes with bangs swept to the side… similar to his own dark hair that he prefers parted in the middle, though his friends say he’s cute with bangs.

He did fall in love with his content but the fangirls ruined it, most of his admiration crushed after finding Yuto was oddly too hyper and annoying. He thought Yuto was a charming, sweet guy when he first discovered him, but then he quickly realized he was one of those people who thinks they’re better than everyone else, always flaunting around girls and taking them home like he’s a hot shot.

To be frank, Yuto grosses him out.

That’s how all the popular and pretty people are anyways. Ryosuke sees people like that all the time and it makes him sick that they exist.

When he figured they wouldn’t cross paths much, it turns out Yuto started recently stopping by the convenience store he works at on occasion when he wasn’t on shift. He had only learned that by chance when he had to cover one of his coworker's shifts and saw him, barely making contact. After seeing Yuto the first time, Ryosuke came in on a different day at the same time and sure enough, he was there, buying a ton of snacks and sweets.

With a sigh bringing him back to reality, he decides this is where he was going to eat, the smell of food luring him in, grabbing a to go bag similar to the one he saw the other boy get. He gets back to his apartment room to eat his meal while scrolling through social media on his computer, carefully eating his burger so that nothing gets on his precious keyboard, coincidently scrolling past some post about Yuto getting a new job, rolling his eyes at his dumb luck.

_Ding!_

He glances at his phone, a text message from the convenience store owner, gulping as he opens the message, worried about what was going to be there.

_Jun-san: I would appreciate it if you let us know earlier, but luckily we got someone else to take over, so it ended up being okay._

Ryosuke’s so lucky that someone else was able to cover his ass, silently thanking whoever it was.

_Jun-san: But I wanted to let you know today that there was this great opportunity my wife and I learned earlier from this handsome young man who comes by our store frequently. He works for a game company that is looking for assistants to hire that you may be interested in._

_By the way, I have already signed you up for an interview next week since the deadline was at noon. There was an open house at 1 pm I wanted you to go to but I guess since you were sleeping we can’t help it._

_I am sure it will be beneficial for you since you’ve been slacking lately._

No. Freaking. Way.

He knows he should be happy for this opportunity, but he also feels like this is some kind of punishment for missing work more often than he should, the last words definitely calling him out. An _assistant_? Yeah, no thanks. But he has no choice other than to click on the link to check out the place the old man is referring to, raising an eyebrow as he sees the name of the company.

Alpha Games.

It was a pretty well known gaming company that he actually considered working for before his university years, even if it wasn’t the best company out there. But he's heard a lot of rumors about them a few months ago, how their quality has been dropping and how they could be bankrupt in the next coming years.

But he does suppose a job is a job.

If he could work there before it goes bankrupt, maybe he could show them what he’s made of and get a recommendation or something. As he scrolls through the pictures, he was getting a little excited for it, looking forward to the interview.

Maybe it'll be a good experience.

His thoughts were interrupted as he received another text from his boss. 

_Jun-san: Oh right, I'm going to send you the contact info of the one who informed us of this opportunity, he said he could answer any questions you may have._

Ryosuke wonders who was the one who showed the old man this opportunity, running through a mental list of the regular people who show up in the store, trying to connect games with one of them. When his phone made another noise with a name and a number, Ryosuke nearly dropped his phone, choking on air as all his hopes were crushed in an instant.

_Nakajima Yuto._

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Ryosuke groans out loud, out of all the people to work there, it _has_ to be Nakajima Yuto? Maybe if he’s lucky enough he won’t see him around. But also with his luck it means he’ll run into him as much as humanly possible.

Part of him is a little hopeful because he could finally do some work with games, but the other part of him is reminding him that he dislikes a certain jerk there.

This is truly the worst situation.

He sighs before putting his phone down and finishing his food. Maybe he can convince the old man that he doesn’t need to do this at this particular place and maybe there will be another good opportunity or maybe a better one.

Once he finally finishes his food, he rushes to his desktop to boot up Jump Party to get his mind off work, messaging the Chibis group chat if they wanted to do anything together, only to not get any responses, not surprised since they’re all usually busy at this time.

In the game, his friends list only showed one person online.

Yujikku.

He wonders if it would be weird if he were to message him first before shaking his head and telling himself he’s not a middle school girl waiting for a boy to text him first. So he sends a message to him asking if he’s up for doing any dungeon, although at first he doesn’t get a response, so he just does some solo hunting before he finally gets something back.

_Yujikku: Hey! Sorry I was in the middle of the event raid with my buds so I couldn’t reply. I’m up for anything, what do you want to do? :D_

Ryosuke smiles, feeling happy that he would stop playing with his other friends to play with him despite barely knowing him. He thinks for a moment, looking at what materials he needs before replying.

_Kurusuke: No problem, how about farming the Chocolate Man? It should be easily duoable with just us two_

_Yujikku: Sure, I need to collect more chocolate parts anyways, meet you there channel 9?_

_Kurusuke: Yes!_

They play together for a while, exchanging battle tips with each other through the game chat, switching up the monster they were hunting every so often. Everything seemed to be dying much faster now that he has a strong support character partying with him and he considers making Daiki change his main class to an archer.

_Yujikku: Yes! Finally got the orb I needed! I’ve been trying to get this for weeks!_

Ryosuke cheers out loud for a moment, happy that his friend got such a rare drop, spamming the chat with smiley faces and congratulations. At times like this, he was glad he had his own apartment room or people will think he’s crazy, not that they don’t already do for being an outcast that spends all his free time playing games.

Soon, Chinen messages him if he is still available and the three of them form a party to challenge tougher bosses now that they have a healer with them.

It was a carefree time, laughing when one of them dies instead of getting frustrated, Chinen having lots of fun purposefully not healing them and watching them die, and Ryosuke’s not sure how, but he was enjoying himself more than usual as he joked around with them, wishing Daiki was with them.

_Yujikku: As much as I would love to play more, I’m going to stop for the night and get food then do some work and stuff :(_

Ryosuke was having so much fun he totally lost track of time, realizing he should also eat.

_Kurusuke: It was fun today, thanks for spending the last few hours with me :D_

_Yujikku: Yeah same here!! We should do it again! Like tomorrow?_

Ryosuke smiles, before typing that he’ll play with him anytime.

_Sabonen: You guys need to get a room._

He rolled his eyes at Chinen’s comment, as if he would fall for someone in a game. He was about to retort when he sees a reply.

_Yujikku: Wouldn’t that be fun if we did? ;)_

Confusion hits him, not expecting that reaction, but he goes along with it for fun.

_Kurusuke: You’re just jealous of us, Sabo_

They all bid their farewells before Ryosuke logs off, stretching a bit in his chair. He considered getting delivery but he strangely has a lot of energy after playing with them, so he decides to go out to dine, craving actual ramen rather than the cup kind that he had last night.

As he arrived at the ramen place he frequently goes to, his eyes widened as he ran into Nakajima Yuto at the entrance wearing a mask and hat. A disguise? He would rather not be seen with him, trying to move to a far away seat, but Yuto just followed him and sat next to him like it was normal and they meant to come in together.

Why is he doing this? Yuto probably doesn’t even recognize him, yet he just decides to sit next to him? He sneaks a glance at the younger boy taking off his disguise, noticing that he’s even prettier close up than he is far away or through photos, jawline so sharp.

He shakes his head.

“Sorry I almost ran you over earlier today, I didn’t see you.” the taller apologizes. “I woke up late so I was almost late to work.”

So he does recognize him… But did he just off handedly call him short?

“Probably busy with some girl last night as usual, huh?” Ryosuke responds bitterly without thinking, knowing how girls talked about sleeping with him all the time. “I figured it was because of the open house at Alpha Games.” he buries his face into the menu to seem uninterested in him, despite always ordering the same thing every time.

Usually hearing Yuto’s annoying voice pisses him off, but admittedly, he does like how Yuto’s voice sounds now, a pleasant sound to his ears that he wouldn’t mind listening to forever. It was so slightly different from the voice he typically hears during their brief contact in the store or when he used to listen to his Youtube videos. It was lower, calmer, more soothing and relaxed, seeming contagious as he also feels relaxed.

It must be because it’s night and he must be exhausted from the day’s activities.

The other male’s eyes widen slightly, his mouth forming a small ‘o’.

“A girl? Not on a night before work.” he winks, Ryosuke’s face heating up.

He did _not_ need to know that or have any sort of images in his head.

“Anyways, you seem to know about me already, have we met before?” Yuto continues. “How did you know? Do you know what I do? How did you know I work at Alpha Games? Did you go to the open house? I don’t remember seeing or meeting you there. Or anywhere really. Or have I?” A barrage of questions came out of his mouth and Ryosuke could only roll his eyes.

Can this guy just shut up already? He isn't even giving him time to respond, not that he was going to answer each question. Is he always this annoying? It was his own fault for bringing up the open house in the first place, cursing himself.

“I also woke up late and I didn’t get to go.” Ryosuke explains, not knowing why he answered truthfully. “The old man- I mean. My boss just mentioned it to me today.” he glances around him, hoping no one catches them talking together and starts spreading rumors or something, not ready for that hell.

Though, he was a little hurt that Yuto hadn’t noticed him before, yet part of him was glad that he decided to go out for dinner instead of staying in so he could just listen to Yuto talk in this strangely nice voice.

But he still hates Nakajima Yuto. Yeah.

“Oh. Okay. By the way, I’m Nakajima Yuto, although you probably already know that.” he smiles and extends his hand to him. “I don’t think we’ve formally met.”

God. He's so cocky that he thinks everyone already knows him, though he would be surprised to meet someone who didn't know him.

He doesn’t take his hand.

“Yamada.” was all he had to say.

“Eh, so you’re Yamada-kun?” Yuto tilts his head to the side, making Ryosuke’s heart skip a beat.

Did he recognize him after all?

“Is the old man you’re talking about Jun-san? The one who works at the local convenience store? He did mention recently that he wanted me to work closely with a Yamada-kun that should be coming in for an interview soon.” he bows his head slightly, a small smirk on his face. “I was expecting someone more… I don’t know, different?”

Damn old man.

Yuto just kept pissing him off more and more as they spoke, the last words sparking his anger.

“Look, I'm sure you've heard that the company is pretty doomed. You don’t need to “work closely” with me and I don’t want to work with you.” Ryosuke growls, glaring at Yuto to see him blank faced.

“You’re not happy to work with me?” Yuto blinks. “I mean, that’s a first, usually people beg to work with me.”

This fucking guy. 

“Unlike others, I’m not obsessed over you.” Ryosuke rolls his eyes as hard as he can. His poor eyes. “We’re not going to be friends, okay?”

“But wouldn’t that be fun?” Yuto hums. “If we did.”

Ryosuke thinks he heard that phrase recently, but that thought left his head immediately as their ramen came, coincidentally ordering the same exact type, from the broth to the toppings.

They sat in an awkward silence, Ryosuke trying to inhale his food without burning his mouth so that he could leave as soon as possible, which turned out to be a terrible idea, as he burned his tongue with the first sip of broth.

He swears he heard a small giggle next to him and he almost lost it right there.

He sneaks some glances at the other boy, wondering if there was a reason he was still sitting next to him, watching him scroll through his phone at some news article as he ate. There might have been a couple times they made short eye contact but he might have imagined it.

When they were both nearly finished with their bowls, Ryosuke glances at Yuto again, to find him blatantly facing him. They seemed to have a staring contest for a few seconds, not sure what was going on in his head, so he opened his mouth to say something snarky, but in the corner of his eye he caught two girls he vaguely recognized coming their way so he just swallowed his words and faced the other way.

“I knew it! It is Yutti!”

A high pitched squeal.

Must be part of his dumb fan club. Ryosuke hopes that the girls don’t recognize or question him, trying to finish his meal in peace as the girls were asking for useless advice or something. Yuto always had this natural charm that attracted people, responding smoothly to the girls.

But he noticed that Yuto’s voice was back to normal again, the same voice that seemed so childish, so annoying. The difference is so small that no one should be able to detect it, but Ryosuke was always more observant than the average person and could notice small things like that.

Weird. Must be imagining things.

“Ah! I was supposed to be back by now to help my friend!” Yuto stands up abruptly and bows in apology to the girls, then faces him. “Sorry, it was nice having dinner together and talking to you, Yamada-kun. Here, why don’t we exchange numbers?” he offers his phone to Ryosuke.

Normally, Ryosuke would have rejected and went along his night to not get involved, but seeing the death glares from the girls made him want to accept the phone out of spite and get his number when they probably don’t have it.

“It was fun, thanks for spending the last hour with me.” he says smugly just to anger the girls, despite them barely interacting during that hour, handing Yuto’s phone back to him with his number added as a new contact, barely brushing hands, pleased as he sees one of the girl’s eye twitch.

“Yeah same here, we should do it again! Like tomorrow?”

He feels like this is deja vu again, this exact flow of conversation happening before, but he just agrees, despite having no intention of meeting him at all in the near future. He watches Yuto leave and the two girls follow him, one sticking out her tongue out at him.

Girls are weird.

When he returns back to his apartment, He looks at his phone to see a text from an unknown number, simply stating that it was from Nakajima Yuto and something about looking forward to seeing him again, saving the number as a new contact as he just responds with his own name.

He flops on his bed, draping an arm over his eyes, feeling like he’s had a long eventful day even if he barely did anything.

First he oversleeps and misses his shift, has an encounter with Mr. Popular almost getting run over, finds out he has an interview at a place Mr. Popular works at, played Jump Party with his new friend and Chinen (the only good thing), meets Mr. Popular _again_ and has ramen with (well, next to) him, and he gets Mr. Popular’s number.

Is this bad luck or good luck?

He gets another text from Yuto, furrowing his eyebrows as he reads it. 

_Nakajima Yuto: Oh btw, I don't plan on letting the company fall. Don't worry_

He doesn't reply, dropping his phone next to him as he lies in bed for a while, rethinking all of his actions of the day before he gets on discord to see Chinen and Daiki talking in a voice call, so he joins.

“They seemed pretty close- oh hi Ryosuke!” Chinen’s voice came brightly, Daiki also greeting him. “We were just talking about you.”

“Hi guys! And what a good time to walk into, what about me?”

“You know, just talking shit about you.” Daiki replies with a laugh. “Just kidding, Chinen was just telling me about how you guys were playing with Yujikku earlier.”

“Oh yeah, he was the only one on my friends list that was on so I thought why not invite him.” Ryosuke shrugs, always forgetting that they couldn’t see his body movements. “It’s not a big deal.”

“You guys really synergize well, it’s like you guys have been playing together for ages.” Chinen comments. “Seriously, people would kill to be able to play with people from Kemono like that. Watch you start playing with the other members too.”

“Haha, maybe I’ll become popular too.” Ryosuke jokes. “But don’t worry, I still like playing with you guys too.”

“Don’t forget about us when you do become popular.” Daiki makes some fake crying and sniffing noises. “We have to catch up to Yama, Chi.”

He rolls his eyes, but still laughs, knowing he feels the most comfortable with his two best friends right here.

“Oh but guys, speaking of popular people, guess what?” he was waiting to tell his friends about his day. “You know that hot cocky popular guy I hate?”

“Did you guys hook up?” Chinen sounded hopeful. 

“No.” Ryosuke rolls his eyes. “But we actually talked for the first time.”

Ryosuke fills them in with all the details, starting with their awkward interaction during lunch, how he might see him at work, and then their time together during dinner.

“Oooh Kurusuke is really getting it!” Chinen teases. “First Yujikku and now Nakajima-kun? You’re attracting all these sweet men. Aren’t you lucky? I barely have anyone interesting where I am.” Chinen sounds like he’s sinking lower into his chair.

“Right? Share some of your good looks and charm with us, Yama.” Daiki adds.

“Shut up, like I keep saying, Yujikku is just some guy we play Jump Party with. And there is NOTHING happening with me and that bastard Nakajima-kun. And there never will be.” he frowns.

“I wish you the best of luck, don’t murder the guy, okay?” Daiki laughs.

“Whatever. Wanna let off some steam now?”

His two friends say yes at the same time, and they begin playing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual I'm nervous about posting this so I appreaciate any feedback~  
> If something doesn't make sense or if there are any questions please don't hesitate to reach out, I'm on Twitter (Starmiyus) and I'm always open for talking about Yutoyama c:


	2. Chapter 2

A full week has passed since he first met Yujikku, the two of them playing together nearly everyday, getting closer as friends, even exchanging their discords so that they could interact outside of the game. He thought he wouldn’t like having someone new in their friend group but he was already so comfortable with Yujikku as he joined the Chibis in doing dungeons and sometimes dailies. Chinen and Daiki still teased him about getting close to someone popular, but he keeps pushing it to the side. Even though they’ve only just met recently, Ryosuke feels like they’ve known each other for longer with how well they work together.

It’s the weekend and all Ryosuke wants to do is play video games all day while not working, so his shoulders slump when he receives a text from both Jun-san and Yuto, asking if he was going to the interview tomorrow for Alpha Games. He tried getting out of it but the old man was adamant on it, so he ended up promising he would do his best to get the job, not wanting to disappoint him.

After all, he's taken care of him up to now. 

“Games over everything~” he sings, moving to his computer to open up Jump Party.

Yujikku is online as he expected, typing a message to him.

_ Kurusuke: Hey, wanna run some dungeons if you’re available? _

He figures he needs the distraction from thinking about work and video games always did exactly that.

_ Yujikku: I’m going to be doing the event raid with some of my guildmates soon, but I can ask if you could join? _

Ryosuke thinks back to Chinen’s words about him playing with the other Kemono players and chuckles a bit, saying yes to the invite.

_ Yujikku: Good news! You can join, but just make sure you don’t die TOO much _

_ Kurusuke: Don’t worry about me! _

He moves to the dungeon entrance, channel 9, already seeing a bunch of people in the map. He tries looking around for his friend, smirking a little to see him right next to his character whacking his character with his bow.

A party invite pops up on the bottom of his screen and he gasps as he sees who it’s from.

_ Party Invite: Yabunbun. _

Holy shit. He’s being invited by the freaking  _ leader _ of Kemono to be in a party together. The creator and ultimate pillar of the guild. The most famous person in the whole ass game. The- you get the point.

He accepts the request to see four other people in the party other than him and he becomes more nervous realizing who he’s about to do the raid with.

There was Yujikku and Yabunbun, of course, the latter being a tanky paladin like Daiki, Yuyaseba, the knight that he had played with the first time they met, and then there was Piitan, a priest like Chinen and also the co-leader of Kemono.

_ Yuyaseba: Oh it's you! _

_ Hi again _

_ Yabunbun: Welcome to the party :) _

_ You must be the one that’s been stealing our precious Yujikku away from us this past week _

_ Kurusuke: Hi everyone! Thank you for having me _

_ Sorry for stealing him so I’ll just ask now if I can borrow him more later? _

_ Yuyaseba: No _

_ We can’t have that happen _

_ We need him too _

_ Yujikku: Don’t fight over me pls ;-; _

_ Piitan: We’re going to have to charge you for borrowing him… _

_ Yujikku: No!! _

_ Don’t do that! _

His nervousness fades away a bit as they have a light hearted argument over who gets to have Yujikku later, though he feels a little out of place seeing how close friends they seem to be and how he’s an outsider. Luckily, he already knew two out of the four of them, or he would’ve gotten too overwhelmed.

_ Piitan: Do you think you can handle master difficulty? _

_ Kurusuke: I’ve never tried it before, but I’ve watched videos in preparation if that counts? _

_ Yujikku: You’ll be okayyy~ _

He was not okay.

As his HP reaches zero again, a chorus of “F” fills the chat, embarrassed that he keeps dying, despite Yujikku’s warning him not to die too much. Watching the videos did not prepare him for the different attack pattern and increased strength of the boss and he definitely could use more practice.

Thankfully, the other four were strong enough to defeat it without him even if it took a bit of a struggle. It would have been faster if he actually stayed alive or if they had just found a different person, but they didn’t try to replace him. He’s worried that he’s performing terribly and they do want to kick him from the party but feel bad for him since he’s friends with Yujikku.

_ Yabunbun: Okay, I think we got enough materials to last us for some time _

_ Is there anything else you guys need to do? _

_ Kurusuke: Thank you so much for carrying me through these, sorry I wasn’t much help… _

_ Yuyaseba: It’s alright! _

_ You did much better than other random people we’ve played with tbh _

_ Piitan: Yeah didn’t expect you to be able to live through the whirlpool attack so good job _

_ Yabunbun: Glad to have you on the team today, Kurusuke _

_ You survived longer each time we went in _

_ Yujikku: See? I told you he’s not a bad player! c: _

_ Kurusuke: Thanks lol _

_ But if I’m dragging you guys down I can leave _

_ Yabunbun: Nonsense! _

_ We don’t mind having you, you’re still learning and trying and that’s what matters _

Ryosuke puts a hand over his heart, touched that they weren’t angry with him for dying all the time.

That’s what he loves about this game, the great community.

_ Piitan: I need some feathers, if anyone else wants to join? _

_ Yuyaseba: Yes pls _

_ Yujikku: We can do that _

_ How about it Kurusuke? We’d love it if you would join us? _

Ryosuke feels honored that the members of Kemono are inviting him to hunt with them, his heart feeling a little flutter as he reads Yujikku’s message, feeling so welcomed. But he had promised Chinen and Daiki he would play with them soon, debating if he should ask if they could join them or if it would be too much. In the end, Ryosuke decided to just part ways.

_ Kurusuke: As much as I would love to, I have plans with my other friends… sorry _

_ Yujikku: Awwwwwww :(((((((((( _

Ryosuke chuckles a little at his response, wondering about Yujikku’s age since he seems younger than him, it was almost adorable how hyper and easily excited he always is, a pleasure to chat with. The other members thanked him for his time, Ryosuke quickly typing that he should be the one thanking them instead.

He opens up his discord, asking if the Chibis were ready, getting an instant response that they were, joining a voice call.

“You guys will never believe who I just raided with.” Ryosuke says excitedly as the three settle in.

“Let me guess…” he imagines Daiki holding his chin with his fingers in a thinking pose. “Yujikku?”

“Well, yes, but there’s more! There was also Yuyaseba, but would you believe it if I partied up with freaking Yabunbun? AND Piitan?”

There was a moment of silence.

“You… WHAT??” Chinen’s loud voice came through his headphones, making him wince a little. “The two most known players in the whole game?? The leader and co-leader of Kemono?? You partied with THEM?”

“Hold on, isn't Yabunbun streaming literally right now, do you think he was streaming the raids and you were in the stream?” Daiki clicks around for a bit, trying to find the stream.

“Oh no, I hope not.” Ryosuke flushes, remembering how badly he was doing, he could die if people were watching and laughing at him and calling him a noob without him knowing. He shivers at the thought.

“Oh, relax, he started streaming like 5 minutes ago, and it seems like they’re just hunting-”

“Phoenixes for feathers, I assume. They asked me if I wanted to join them.” Ryosuke sighs in relief, no one's going to be attacking him tonight or calling him a noob.

“They invited you… and you said no?” Daiki asked with a hint of surprise. “Was it Yujikku?”

Ryosuke frowns, confused at both of their surprise that he chose the Chibis over them, thinking it would make more sense for him to play with his friends instead.

“Well I promised I would play with you guys… and yeah it was mainly Yujikku, but the whole group was okay with it.”

“I swear, everyone loves you, Yama.” he could hear Daiki’s pout through his headphones.

“I’m just too lovable, aren’t I?”

“Shut up.”

The three hunt together for a while, while laughing as they usually do.

After a few hours, Ryosuke becomes aware of his stomach growling, as he’s been non stop playing since after lunch.

“Chi, you have to go to dance class soon, right?” Ryosuke questions, looking at the time, knowing that Chinen teaches acrobatic dance.

“Yeah, so I’m going to have to head out soon.” comes the response from the youngest.

“Well good timing, since my stomach is singing to me and I have to answer it. I’m going to cook something, then if you want to continue afterwards, Dai-chan?”

“I was going to meet up with a friend tonight, sorry Yama.” Daiki responds, a bit of regret in his voice.

“Oh, it’s no problem. I’ll just do some solo stuff.” Ryosuke pouts.

“Just invite Yujikku, I’m sure he’ll accept.” Chinen teases.

“Maybe I will!” Ryosuke shoots back.

They say goodbye to each other, disconnecting from the voice call, the room feeling eerily quiet. 

If there’s one downside to having all your friends be online, it’s the sense of loneliness realising how far, yet so close, they can be.

He lets out a long sigh, his stomach rumbling again, getting up to his small kitchen.

“Hmmm.” he hums to himself, wondering what he should make. “Can’t go wrong with some fried rice!” taking out some chicken and vegetables to add.

As he cooks, he couldn’t help but be curious about Kemono’s streams, so he opens up Twitch, searching for “Yabunbun”, seeing that he’s still streaming, letting it play out loud as background noise while he cooks.

“I recommend using the skill haste scroll on your weapons, you’ll be able to deal a lot more damage since your skills will charge up faster, right Piitan?” he hears a male voice.

So they give tips on stream as well, huh? What a nice group…

“Mhm, this applies to all weapons pretty much, but it is especially important for classes like priests like me and archers, where their skills benefit the whole team.” A different male voice.

He looks at the current party list, frowning as he sees it’s only Yabunbun and Piitan playing, or at least just sitting in a town, some other characters sitting or hopping around them. Yuyaseba and Yujikku must have left already.

“That’s right, Tobikkolove9, I hope that answers your question.”

They must just be answering chat questions, instead of killing things. The chat is moving fairly quickly, so he was surprised that they were able to read some of them. Though a bunch of them seemed to be screaming about how Yabunbun and Piitan were together for some reason. Guess it’s the power of the leader and co-leader of Kemono.

He continues to cook his fried rice while listening to the stream, learning a few things from the two experts, watching it even as he eats it, feeling relaxed as he listens to the voices. Watching gaming streams always calmed him down too.

The stream doesn’t last much longer, the two Kemono members saying goodbye and reading off some names in the chat, thanking them. He also typed something in the chat, wondering if they would see and recognize his name as Kurusuke, but the chat was moving too quickly and they must not have seen it.

As the stream ends, he sits in his chair for a moment, playing through everything that happened today, hoping not to forget anything. It felt strange to play with a different group of people today and even though he didn’t feel like he fit in at first, he still felt so accepted by all of them. He loves playing Jump Party, but he’s been having extra fun lately, especially this week.

Maybe it is because of Yujikku. After all, if it weren't for him, he wouldn’t have had the experience of playing with the other Kemono members today.

He wonders about him, wanting to learn more about him, but he always gives vague answers and avoids talking about his real life, as if he doesn’t want to reveal too much about himself. Him, on the other hand, tends to overshare things with people he befriends online, so he hopes that Yujikku doesn't think he’s weird when he starts to talk about real life to him, but for some reason he feels comfortable with it and wants to let him know what is happening to him, only leaving out some extremely personal details.

That’s another thing he loves about video games, he can talk to so many people through a screen and not worry about being forced like how he feels talking to someone in person. In real life, he aims to be seen as a cool, aloof prince, but online he likes to be dorky and dumb, which he would feel embaressed if people in real life saw him like that. He doesn’t have to fake his expressions to hide things, just type words. Ryosuke feels more comfortable with himself online, more free. 

He feels an urge to talk to Yujikku.

He scans his friends list, wondering if Yujikku was online, and found himself to be disappointed when he saw that he was offline. It's been awhile since he felt this disappointed to not see a friend online.

“I wonder what he's up to…” Ryosuke wonders out loud.

As if on cue, he hears the discord beep notifying him of a message, seeing that Yujikku had just logged on and sent him a message.

_ Yujikku: Hey, have a moment? _

Ryosuke’s heart beats faster, though he’s not sure why, feeling a little nervous about what he was going to say. Did he cause a problem with the guild? Did he do something wrong? Does he not want to be friends anymore?

_ Kurusuke: Hey, what’s up? _

Was it weird that he replied so fast? He already had the chat open so he was able to respond immediately.

_ Yujikku: Just wanted to say sorry about my guidemates, sometimes they get weirdly protective lol _

_ But they really did enjoy having you in the party today, so thanks for joining :) _

He relaxes after reading the messages, in the back of his mind he was still worried that they were just being nice to him just because he was Yujikku’s friend.

_ Kurusuke: That’s great, thank you for reaching out and telling me that :) _

_ You guys seem really close _

_ Yujikku: Yeah, we’ve been playing together for a while, and we decided to make a guild together... Thus Kemono was born _

_ Kurusuke: So you’re one of the founders of the legends? _

_ Yujikku: I guess you can say that _

_ We never expected to become famous haha _

_ Though admittedly I wish we weren’t as popular... it really is a pain sometimes _

_ Kurusuke: Really? Is it not fun to be popular? You guys are seriously cool, one of my friends is a huge fan of you guys _

_ Yujikku: It’s fun sometimes _

_ How about you? Are you also a fan? _

The question catches him off guard, sure he knew of Kemono, everyone who plays Jump Party does, but he never knew there were actual fans until Chinen told him.

_ Kurusuke: Would you hate me if I said that I wasn’t one? I mean, I knew of you guys before but you guys are players of Jump Party just like everyone else, right? We all just love the game _

_ Yujikku: Nice answer :) _

_ That’s what I thought your opinion of us was when we first played together. I didn’t get this vibe that you wanted to party with us just to say you were in a party with us _

That never occured to Ryosuke that things like that happened. He wonders what has happened before that made him wary of people, but he felt like it wasn’t right to ask now.

_ Kurusuke: I’m here to enjoy the game and meet other people who also enjoy the game _

_ Yujikku: Yeah, it’s nice having online friends ^^ _

_ Well anyways, I should get going. I just wanted to throw you a message _

_ Kurusuke: Thanks, Yujikku… I’m glad we started playing together. Online friends are great, I look forward to playing more with you! _

_ Yujikku: Me too!! I’m glad I messaged you to join you _

_ Have a good night <3 _

_ Kurusuke: You too <3 _

Ryosuke had just gone with the flow and added a heart to the end of his message, copying Yujikku, though it makes him feel so soft inside. He does tend to love his online friends as much as people in real life, so it's not like he wasn't used to adding hearts to his messages. He says I love you to his friends all the time online… though he struggles to say it in real life.

He wants to meet the person who was on the other side of the screen, the person behind ‘Yujikku’, wondering if Yujikku ever thinks about things like this.

~~~

This is stupid.

It was the first day of his job at Alpha Games, the tall building looming over him. And now he was allowed to step inside the building, feeling nervous as hell as a crowd of professional business looking people pressed past him.

He was 24 years old for God’s sake.

But he doesn’t have a choice, he somehow passed the interview with flying colors, getting a response within days asking when he would be available to work right away since they liked his charms. Even though he applied to be an assistant, they thought it would be suitable for him to work as a full time employee instead. He would need to attend a week of training because of it, which is why he was here today.

Apparently he's that loveable and perfect for the job to his surprise.

He promised he would try the job for at least a month for the old man, not including the week of training, sighing as he forces himself to go inside.

“Room 100... Room 100…” he mumbles to himself, pacing back and forth in the long hallway.

He already knew where the room was, having passed it several times, but he was a bit early and needed to waste some time before going in, anxious about who else would be there. He also didn’t want to see-

“Lost already?”

A voice startles him, turning on his heels to face a taller figure, a smirk on his face that he wanted to punch off.

“Oh. It’s you.” he mumbles, looking away from Yuto, who looked exactly how a teacher would look, a grey vest over a white collared shirt, jeans, round glasses.

Nerd.

“Didn't think you would actually make it here. Did you say room 100? Just follow me." Yuto points in the general direction of the room, clearly labeled ‘Room 100’.

Did he really think that he wouldn’t get the job?

Well, here goes.

He’s not sure what he expected, but the room was small with about 10 other people of varying ages. If anything, he seemed like he was the younger person in the room, other than Yuto of course, who is technically younger than him by a few months.

“Pat yourself on the back because I heard your interview was the most perfect one.” Yuto whispers in his ear, a hand briefly gliding along his back, sending a shiver down his spine as the taller man walks up to the front of the room.

Cool. Wait no, this is still stupid. He shakes his head slightly, feeling his face heat up, reminding himself that he wasn’t supposed to like it here, looking forward to when he could quit and not see that guy again.

He takes a seat near the back of the room, near the window, feeling like some kind of anime protagonist, vaguely listening to the introductions of the two people who will be training them, which unfortunately Yuto is one of them.

Just his luck.

The other man was also quite young, the same age as him but older by a month. He’s a sweet looking guy, named Okamoto Keito, though he insisted that everyone just call him Keito. He works in the English compartment where he makes deals with other countries about games and works with translations. If Ryosuke is being completely honest, he’s pretty cute.

Then there was Yuto. He only started working full time here recently and is already a section leader since he’s apparently so capable. But Ryosuke is only vaguely listening, his words going straight through one ear out the other.

After the two finally finished their introductions, they proceeded in explaining the objectives of working here and general company rules using a powerpoint presentation. Ryosuke tried his best to keep himself awake and focused but all he could think about was playing games.

When that was finished, Keito and Yuto were both going around to speak to each person individually, so all he could do was play on his phone until it was his turn. They were allowed to chat amongst themselves, but Ryosuke felt too awkward to try to communicate with the others, who seemed to fit right in with each other.

“Yamada-kun, right?” Keito smiles warmly as he holds out his hand, Ryosuke taking it and smiling back.

Yuto starts to hold out his hand, but lowers it upon realizing that Ryosuke is purposefully not looking at him. Keito notices it, but doesn’t address it, simply nodding and moving on.

They asked him some questions, like what his game development background is, giving him a survey with his interests.

“This is to tell us your preferences in what you want to focus on so we could put you in the right section.” Keito explains.

They have some small talk afterwards, to try to get to know each other more, but Ryosuke just wasn’t having it, pissed with having Yuto in his close proximity, feeling his eyes watching and judging him. He probably would’ve been fine if it was just Keito he was talking to but for some reason Yuto made his insides burn and all he wanted to do was punch his stupid face off.

After the meeting was dismissed, he tried to leave as quickly as possible, but Keito stopped him on his way out, motioning them to move away down the hall.

“Is there something between you and Yuto that I should know about?” Keito questions with genuine concern in his voice.

Was there something between them?

“I…” he hesitates, not sure what he wants to say, biting his lower lip. “I just don’t get along with people like him.” he settles on that answer, not that it’s wrong.

He just can’t deal with people that are given everything on a silver platter and always out there and living their best life.

Keito nods, taking out a notebook and jotting something down.

“I’ll take note of it, but he will always be around so I would appreciate it if you at least listen to him rather than ignoring him.” he says softly. “He isn’t as bad as he seems when you first meet him, though I admit he does get too excited about his passions and can be a little forceful sometimes, which I understand a quiet person like you must not like.”

Ryosuke swallows, but agrees that he’ll try his best. He’s not sure if he should mention that he already knows how Yuto is from his social media, but he lets it go. He likes Keito, he feels like he can be trusted and can actually understand him.

Maybe after all this is over he can talk to Keito normally.

“I’ll let him know to be gentler with you, and I hope you become more comfortable here.” Keito continues, letting him go as he waves.

"Thank you Okam-"

"Keito."

"Uh. Thank you K-Keito."

Ryosuke waves back, feeling comforted by Keito’s calm presence, but he felt another fiery presence that seemed to be waiting for him around the corner of the exit. As expected, he notices Yuto, back leaning against the wall, looking at his phone until he realizes it was Ryosuke who was trying to walk past him.

“Yamada-kun!” Yuto calls out, Ryosuke tries to ignore him but two hands grab his wrists, pulling him back to pin his hands above his head and push his back against the wall, a gasp leaving his lips as he faces a frowning Yuto.

“Don’t touch me!” Ryosuke snaps, his skin burning where Yuto is holding him, wiggling his arms to break free, but Yuto’s hold on him is firm as he becomes trapped between him and the wall.

It was an awkward position for him, Yuto being taller than him and surprisingly stronger than he looks, holding him back. He was going to try kicking him but his legs were frozen, not responding to his thoughts, eyes wide on Yuto’s narrow ones.

“What’s your problem with me?” Yuto raises an eyebrow. “Aren’t you being a little bratty?”

Him? Bratty? He hasn’t even seen how bratty he could be.

“Let go of me.” he tries to be firm but the close proximity and Yuto’s intense gaze weakened his defenses for a split second, causing him to look away.

“You’re the first person to show that they clearly don’t like me this obviously to my face.” Yuto frowns. “I just want to know why.”

First Keito asked him this and now Yuto himself is. He wanted to respond but his breath was lost again as he looked into Yuto’s eyes, feeling his life being sucked away.

What’s wrong with him and why can’t he move?

“Yutti?”

Using that moment when Yuto broke eye contact to glance over to some girl looking for him, Ryosuke bolts from his arms, relieved when he wasn’t being followed home.

Yuto has some nerve to say that he’s the first person to show his dislike towards him, hating how much everyone likes him.

He can’t believe that Yuto had him in that hold like that out in public, where people saw them! What is he supposed to do about that? He rubs his wrists where Yuto touched him, muttering that he’ll kick him low and hard next time.

He returns to his apartment, flopping down on the bed, wanting nothing more than to take a nap after spending a few hours at the company for the beginning of training. He had forgotten how exhausting it can be to do extra work, his energy completely sapped as his heart exerts itself from it.

Taking out his phone, he makes sure to text the old man that the first day went alright, not wanting to say anything bad to make him happy.

Only one month. Then he could stop his work and continue his life as he normally does. 

Just one month.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof sorry if this is really slow paced and I'm slow at updating, I've been a bit sick and busy with work lately ;-;  
> Thank you for reading and for patience~ 💕


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hihi, just in case you haven't noticed, I've been playing with the tags/rating so it's set to have some mature scenes later because I can't resist 😅
> 
> Okay enough from me, enjoy reading~

"Didn't I say I wanted this done by the time I get back?"

Ryosuke flinches as a hand slams down on the table next to him, Yuto narrowing his cold eyes as he towers above him.

"Sorry sir I was caught up doing-"

"Didn't finish the previous assignment again?" Yuto shakes his head glancing at what he has done so far, snatching the untouched binder of work on his desk. "I hope it’s better than the last assignment you turned in, Yamada-kun. I'll just do it myself."

Ryosuke curses to himself, trying to refocus himself on his current work. It was taking him longer than he expected since he has to learn all these new programs and fancy technology. Plus he has to do everything according to Yuto’s standards, which were extremely high. It was stressful and he felt pressured to do everything perfectly to prove that he can do it, wanting to look good for a recommendation.

Especially in front of Nakajima Yuto.

It turned out that his interests of game and app design just happened to be what Yuto works with, but out of the several design sections, he was assigned to Yuto's section, meaning that he's his new boss.

Disgusting.

It really is his bad luck that he keeps running into him. 

He didn't realize so much time had passed as Yuto returned from his meeting, grimacing as he was supposed to be done with this assignment and should have started the next one already. Which he doesn’t even have anymore since Yuto took it away. He was given some lengthy complicated code that he had to fix numerous errors, having trouble with it since it’s in a coding language that he wasn’t completely familiar with, having studied others instead.

That’s all he's been doing all day so far. Tedious error fixing.

He managed to complete the intense week-long training with both Yuto and Keito but he had mainly worked with Keito during it, glad that they became friends quickly. But now that the training was over and he was properly working, Keito wasn’t there to help him and he was stuck with Yuto in the same room all day. He was already exhausted from the amount of work he's already been given during this first week.

Plus just having Yuto constantly around him made him  _ extra _ exhausted and angry.

For some reason it seems like Yuto has this interest in purposefully torturing specifically him, giving only him a ton of assignments and there's no way he's able to complete them all in a timely manner or to Yuto’s standards. It always ends up with the taller one doing his unfinished work for him like he’s so much better than him, making look bad in front of the others.

Why doesn't he just do it all himself in the first place if he’s that smart instead of pushing it onto him?

"Yamada-kun."

"Yes, sir?”

"After you get that done, make sure to email it to me then start compiling the numbers for this as well." Yuto drops a different binder on his desk. "Do you think you could at least make yourself more useful and do this right for me?" he taps his foot.

Here he goes again giving him more work before giving work to the others in his section. Yuto always seemed to be in a bad mood when he was working, strict and harsh. It only annoyed him more than his usual bubbly voice.

"...Yes sir." he grits his teeth, every fiber of him wanting to stand up and punch the guy but he knows he shouldn’t.

"Good. Now hurry up."

Why do girls like this guy again? There were always fangirls always waiting outside for him after he finished his work with presents for him, the guy smiling and waving at them. Everytime Ryosuke left the building, he could feel daggers on him, sometimes having one of them ask him where Yuto was. As if he knows where he is at all times. Who even allowed them to be there? Don't they have better things to do? 

Then why is it just towards him that Yuto is acting like this? Glancing at his coworkers did nothing as they all just looked away in the opposite direction. He couldn’t even talk to them about anything as they always said they were busy.

Annoying.

After finishing his current assignment and emailing it like Yuto wanted, he had no time to waste and began looking through the pages of numbers he had to calculate.

This was hardly what he wanted to work with, expecting to be able to use his creativity right away, not do work like this. He sees the other people in his section doing what he wants and he's frustrated that he couldn't do those as well and was stuck with doing these. 

Even when he got stuck on how to solve a problem, Yuto just told him to figure it out for himself, brushing him off and doing whatever he does.

So unhelpful.

Isn’t it his job to guide him as his boss?

The week was slow, filled with him getting scolded by Yuto, hearing the same words over and over again.

“Do this.” “Wrong.” “Do it again.” “Not finished yet?”

On the last work day of the week, he ended up running into Keito when he went to get a drink before heading home and Ryosuke nearly cried seeing his soft expressions again. He hasn’t been able to find time to talk to him since he’s been so busy with his transitions into the office, keeping their texts between each other short.

Since they both have time to chat now, he figured he might as well ask for advice from him since Keito seemed to be close with Yuto. Plus he liked being around Keito. They went ahead and sat down together in a near empty room with some tea.

“I can’t believe I’m still stuck with Nakajima-san.” Ryosuke groaned, idly stirring his tea. “I thought I would be able to avoid him after training but I can’t believe he’s actually my boss.”

“You really don’t like him, huh? I knew it was coming that you would be assigned to his section considering your interests, but at least you get to work with designs like you wanted now.” Keito tries to comfort him.

“I wish. He gave me miscellaneous work all week as if I was some assistant, but the others in the section are getting to do drawings and models and stuff. I don’t get it. I want to do that stuff too, that’s why I’m here.”

He envied the other people near his work station, seeming to be enjoying what they were doing while there he was stuck looking at hundreds of lines of code and numbers. It didn’t even seem like he belonged there. It was all wrong.

“Really?” Keito frowns, his cup resting on his lips. “You should be getting that work as well, strange that it’s only you getting different work.”

So Keito was just as confused as he is about him getting other work, meaning Yuto is 100% doing it on purpose just for him. Is that even allowed or does he have a pass just because he’s a section leader?

“He’s so rude about it too! It’s like he already knows that I hate doing that kind of stuff yet he still expects me to finish the huuuge amount of work he gives me and only me. He definitely hates me.” an exasperated expression on his face.

“Yuto being rude? That’s pretty unheard of, he’s usually so kind to people… and very affectionate. He likes hugs.” Keito chuckles a little, remembering a time when Yuto had surprised him with a bear hug during work.

Hearing that didn’t surprise Ryosuke too much as his social media personality definitely reflected that, but what is surprising is this boss Yuto he knows would  _ not  _ do something like that. If Yuto ever tried to hug him then he would punch him where he doesn't want to be punched.

Hard.

“I know maybe I was a little rude to him when I first talked to him and I basically ignored him during training but that doesn’t mean he can treat me like I’m this low pawn of his.” Ryosuke mutters, wondering if it was his fault that Yuto didn’t like him. "I can’t even fight back since he’s my boss."

“Maybe he has a reason behind this... Yuto’s pretty smart and observant you know.” Keito tilts his head, trying to think what’s going on inside his head. “There’s a reason why he was chosen to be a section leader so fast. He usually knows what he’s doing.”

Ryosuke sighs, guessing that he must be the unlucky soul to have to deal with Yuto. He’s pretty sure that Yuto was only chosen as a leader because he probably charmed the higher ups into making him one since he’s so popular. But hearing Keito praise him like that made him wonder if Yuto was actually smart... or if he tricked poor Keito as well.

That bastard.

“I bet he knows that he’s driving me crazy with his ‘can you do this and this and this’. It’s so annoying.”

“Ah. Speaking of him.” Keito motions with his chin behind him and Ryosuke grits his teeth, already feeling his blood start to boil.

“Hi Keito!” Yuto’s cheerful voice echoed in the quiet hall where they were sitting. “Oh, and hello Yamada-kun.”

Ryosuke greets him with a fake smile on his face, just watching as Yuto and Keito speak to each other about work. It was strange, Yuto seemed to be in a much better mood than earlier when he was ordering him to do things for him, more like his social media personality. Must be how he is like when he’s trying to charm people.

He has no idea which one is the real Yuto.

Yuto turned his attention towards him, opening his mouth to say something but nothing came out as he closed it. Ryosuke felt like he should say something to him, but he isn’t sure what he would even say.

Maybe ‘thanks for being an asshole’?

“Hey Yuto, what do you think of Yamada-kun’s work?” Keito butts in and even though Ryosuke likes Keito, he did not want this to happen.

“He has a lot to learn.” was Yuto’s only reply as he pats his head and Ryosuke waved him away, saying he needs to go.

As he left the two alone, hearing them laugh over something, he kept thinking about how much he was dreading having to work under Yuto. But like he promised the old man, he had to put up with this for a whole month before he could quit.

Just three more weeks.

~~~

Tap. Tap. Tap. 

His fingers twitched on the counter as he watched the clock tick by painfully slowly, watching as the sun set outside.

After working with numbers all week at Alpha Games, here he was still working at the cashier with even more numbers. In addition to his job at Alpha Games four days a week Monday to Thursday from morning to late afternoon, he still has shifts at the convenience store on Friday and Saturday through the evening, Sunday being his only free day.

He does kind of like being busy all the time being a workaholic, but he still wishes he was back in his own room and playing video games or resting in his bed and scrolling through his phone.

It wasn’t planned for him to have shifts still, but the store has been busier than usual lately, so he was requested to help out and Ryosuke couldn't say no. The dinner rush had only recently ended, only a few people coming in and out now, thankfully giving him time to breathe unlike a certain other job. It was nearing the end of his shift and he was already getting distracted.

The bell on the front door rings, indicating that someone entered the store, instantly straightening his posture and putting on his customer service voice with a smile.

“Welcom-” he begins but his mouth shuts when he meets the eyes of the one he never wants to see walk in.

“Hi Yamada-kun.” Yuto immediately walks over to the counter, propping his elbows on it. “How are you doing?”

He was wearing sunglasses and a hat, another weak disguise to keep fangirls and paparazzi away.

Ryosuke rolls his eyes as hard as he could right in front of him.

“And what might you be doing here disturbing your poor worker during their other job? I require you to buy something if you want to be here.” Ryosuke glares at him, seemingly here just to bother him.

Yuto whistles, but he reaches down and grabs a chocolate bar with strawberry pieces, one of his favorites, placing it on the counter, maintaining eye contact as he takes his wallet out.

“Feisty. Then, I’d like to buy this.”

Ryosuke scans the bar, accepting the credit card and handing both items back to him.

“Okay, now you can leave. Goodbye.” Ryosuke waves him off, pretending to be interested in the stock behind him.

“Are you always that rude to customers?” Yuto says behind him, clearly not leaving yet. “And I came all this way to come see you work? Hmm… maybe I should tell Jun-san about your behavior...”

Ryosuke freezes, turning around with gritted teeth.

“And what else would my sweet lovely boss like?”

Yuto chuckles, amused at his reaction.

“Relax. Unless you actually act like that to other customers then that’s a problem.” Yuto kept his eyes on him. “I’m just checking up on my cute little worker, that’s all, is that so wrong?”

Gross. He did not want to hear those words come out of his mouth ever again.

“I don’t recall I ever asked you to.” he replies, wondering what he has up his sleeve, a strange glint in his eyes.

“I’ll just cut straight to the chase then.” Yuto narrows his eyes. “I’m interested in you.”

Ryosuke just blinks, not even sure what to do with that information.

“Or should I say, I’m interested in your work.” Yuto continues. “I read your application of course and you mentioned that you’ve created a few apps, so naturally I thought I would check them out to see what you can do.”

Ryosuke swallows, curious in what Yuto thought of them, forgetting that the apps he created are still available for anyone to use and that he sent along the coding for them after he was accepted for the job as a reference.

“What did you think about-”

“Oh they’re pretty shit.”

Ryosuke’s face flushed, leaning forward to smack him, but Yuto easily dodged by taking a step back, laughing as Ryosuke tried to reach him over the counter but couldn't. Fuck this guy.

“Slow down, you didn’t let me finish." Yuto smirks. "They might be bad now but I can see that they can be very easily adjusted to be better, maybe even alright. They’re filled with careless bugs that could be fixed with just a few simple changes.”

He’s honestly surprised that Yuto was able to figure out the solutions to the bugs he spent hours upon hours trying to fix, hoping that no one would notice them. He wanted to ask him for advice on how to fix them so he knows for future reference, but he has his pride and would rather die than ask Nakajima Yuto for help.

Plus the smirk on Yuto’s face told him he isn’t going to budge easily.

“And? What’s the catch here? I’m assuming that you’re not going to tell me what’s wrong with them this easily.”

“Bingo. I heard that you’re planning to quit after a month with us, should I really give such hints to someone who is just going to go off in his own way?”

Fuck. Ryosuke was conflicted now. He’s dreading having to work under Yuto after that hellish first week, but at the same time, it would be great for him to work in this job and learn what he could do to make better apps in the future.

“Look, I know you have potential in you. I don’t know why you put a time limit on working at Alpha Games, but if you stay and work for us, I know you’ll be able to quickly gain the skills you need.” Yuto presses. He straightens himself, starting to walk towards the exit. “It’s your choice though.”

“You forgot your choco-”

“Consider it a parting gift from me.” Yuto interrupts without looking back, disappearing into the night and leaving Ryosuke alone in the store.

He grips the chocolate bar, squeezing it and feeling it break between his fingers. What’s with him and just stopping by to tell him his apps suck? How did he even know he was working at this time?

“What’s wrong Dayama?”

He looks up to see Jun watching him.

“It’s nothing, I was just bored since there’s no customers here.” he replies with his fake smile, trying to act naturally.

“Did you meet with Yuto-kun yet? He had asked what your shift schedule is so he could stop by and talk to you. I asked why he couldn’t just ask you, but he said that you definitely won’t tell him if he asked.”

Damn it, that’s how Yuto knew when his shift was ending, coming in while he was still working so he can’t fight him, and leaving just before it ends so that he can’t chase after him. The old man must have been the one who told Yuto that he was only planning on working there for a month.

“Yeah he just left.” Ryosuke says, trying to hide his bitterness.

“I can’t believe someone like Yuto-kun started coming to this store, we’ve had more customers lately because of him.”

Ryosuke rolls his eyes, which explains why the dinner rush was busier than it usually is. Of course people would want to visit the store that some social influencer was visiting for the chance of running into him coincidently. Maybe that explains why every girl that walks in was always looking around the store and glaring at him.

He again wonders what people like about him, some rude arrogant person like him.

With a sigh with frustration, he watches the clock tick by ever so slowly again, wanting to go home more than ever. 

~~~

_ Kurusuke: He’s the worst boss ever _

_ Yujikku: Sounds tough man _

_ Kurusuke: I swear I’d be much happier if only I had someone else as my boss... _

Ryosuke sighs out loud, having just ranted to Yujikku that he started a new job with the worst boss that gives him all the work in the world after he got off the convenience store. He knows it's only the first week but he was already tired of Yuto barking orders at him.

_ Yujikku: Maybe he’s just testing you _

_ Kurusuke: Testing what? _

_ My patience? _

_ Bc it’s running pretty damn low _

_ Yujikku: Idk aren't bosses usually rough with newbies? To see what they're capable of?  _

_ Kurusuke: Beats me _

_ Someone else was saying something like that _

_ If it is true then everyone would quit _

_ Yujikku: Why don't you quit then? _

_ Kurusuke: He's lucky I can't quit yet because I made a promise _

_ Yujikku: Oh that sucks _

_ Kurusuke: Tell me about it _

_ Anyways thanks for letting me rant for bit _

_ Yujikku: No prob _

_ Wanna let out more of your frustration and tackle this giant slime? _

_ Kurusuke: Def _

Tomorrow was his free day and he really wasn't looking forward to going back in for another day at that hellish place on Monday, not wanting to even think about Yuto or the work he’s going to have to do.

He was grateful that he still had Jump Party and his online friends, feeling relaxed from the tapping heard from his mechanical keyboard as he unleashes skill after skill on bosses and monsters, using them like a virtual punching bag. There was just something so pleasing to pretend that the giant evil slime in front of him is Yuto and he was able to hack and slash at it.

He doesn’t even feel bad about it.

It was a little late, but he was thankful that someone else was on so he has someone else to talk (or type) to so he doesn’t feel like he’s alone.

_ Yujikku: Did you notice my electric effect on my weapon from the new mystery boxes?  _

_ Cool right? _

_ Kurusuke: It's cool but _

_ How much money did you spend? _

_ Yujikku: We don’t talk about that _

_ Ever _

_ Kurusuke: How do you have so much money for all this stuff?? _

_ I swear in the month that I’ve known you you always have something new to show all the time _

Time has flown by since he's met Yujikku, his training and new job getting in the way of his video games. He remembers when he had just met him and now they’re always playing together and even with the other members of Kemono and Chibis sometimes.

_ Yujikku: … _

_ I have my ways _

_ Kurusuke: Don’t tell me you do cam shows _

_ Yujikku: WHAT _

_ NO _

_ I DON’T _

_ MY JOBS JUST PAY WELL _

_ Kurusuke: Yeah sure okay cam boy _

_ Yujikku: STOP _

_ >///< _

Even though it's been a month, he still doesn’t know a lot about Yujikku's real life, the other guy being more conscientious about talking about it compared to him. He tries to keep his own real life information to himself, but he always ends up sprouting personal information anyways, shown as when he rants about what’s going on in his life. Of course, he does keep some information to himself to not reveal  _ too  _ much, but it’s always fun to talk about life.

It's always easier when there's a screen involved and you don't actually have to talk face to face. 

He just knows that Yujikku is around his age and works two separate jobs like he does, yet he has enough free time to play video games and always seems to be online when he is, seeming to never rest. It was like their schedules matched up.

Not that he's complaining.

And apparently those jobs pay well enough that he could afford to pump cash into this online game, though he has also thrown actual money at this game because he loves it so much and is willing to support the company.

It looks like Yujikku is one of those people too, using real money to buy scrolls to fully upgrade his equipment and always buying the new mystery boxes of clothes and showing off some new outfit or effect that he got, wearing something new every week.

_ Yujikku: Oh right I almost forgot _

_ I got an extra one of these weapon effects, you want it?  _

_ Kurusuke: Why me?  _

_ How about your guildmates?  _

_ Yujikku: ...I gave some of them one already… _

_ Kurusuke: You spend too much don't you? _

_ Yujikku: I said we don't talk about that  _

_ ...I just wanted the puppy mount but I kept getting these _

_ Kurusuke: Did you get the puppy? _

_ Yujikku: Yes :D _

_ Kurusuke: Are you going to use the puppy? _

_ Yujikku: … No… _

_ Kurusuke: Why do you do this _

_ Yujikku: It's cute so it's worth it _

_ Look at it Kurusuke _

_ Look at it and tell me it’s not cute _

_ Kurusuke: Okay okay I get it it’s cute _

Ryosuke isn't surprised when he sees the trade notification pop up, accepting it to have Yujikku give him the electric weapon effect. It wasn't the first time he's been given something that costs real money from Yujikku, he liked giving away his extras to his friends and guildmates rather than selling them. Ryosuke would like to be able to give something back to him or also surprise him with gifts but the guy always seems to have everything already so it seemed pointless.

He equips the effect, swinging his electrified sword at Yujikku's character, who responds by swinging his electrified bow at him and using the anger emoticon.

Ryosuke would be lying if he said this wasn’t his favorite thing Yujikku has given him.

_ Kurusuke: Look we match! _

_ At least for like a week before you decide to change it  _

_ Yujikku: Can I buy us full matching outfits? _

_ Kurusuke: No  _

_ Gross _

_ Isn't that what couples do?  _

_ Yujikku: :( _

_ There are friends who match! _

He rolls his eyes, telling him to hurry up and enter the next dungeon so he could pretend more monsters were Yuto and he could kill them.


	4. Chapter 4

When Monday does come too quickly for him, he arrives at the office with dread. It was only the second week that he’s been here but he was already hating it here because of Yuto. He already sees plenty enough of him as he scrolls through Facebook and Twitter as people he’s friends with post about him and it makes him tired seeing his stupid overly bubbly personality.

He ended up spending his whole “free” day yesterday reviewing efficient ways of calculations in coding and watching tutorials, wanting to make sure he does all his work perfectly so Yuto doesn't scold him all week again. He wouldn't be able to mentally handle that for another week.

As he enters his work space, he runs into Yuto, forcing himself to properly greet him like a good employee, using his customer service face and voice that he’s perfected over the years.

“Good morning Yamada-kun. Lucky we ran into each other before you got yourself settled, I’d like to have a quick chat with you. Come with me.”

He swallows as Yuto motioned to leave the room, following him down the long hall in silence until they reached one of the conference rooms. Yuto takes a seat first, anxiety filling him up as he feels his sharp gaze following his every movement as he takes a seat across from him.

“Glad to see you still with us after the first week, I was expecting you to have quit by now. I’m surprised you’re not as soft as I thought.” Yuto begins. “I see your attitude hasn’t changed since the first day we met though.”

Ryosuke furrows his brows, annoyed that Yuto thought he was soft, he didn’t want to have others think of him like that. He would never have taken this job in the first place if it weren’t for him making a promise to Jun.

“What do you mean by my attitude?”

“Oh you know. You being a bratty little kid complaining about the amount of work you had to do. Keito and Jun-san told me to be nicer to you. I know this is your first proper job, but hasn’t anyone taught you manners?”

He flushes from hearing something like that from someone younger than him, even if it was only a few months. This wasn’t the first time that Yuto had called him bratty, clearly recalling the other day before his training had begun. It was unsurprising that both Jun and Keito had tried speaking to Yuto, the guys just wanting the best for him, but it was embarrassing that Yuto knew he was complaining about it so much. He hates that Yuto knows that he hasn’t been successful in finding a job before this one other than the convenience store.

Unlike him, the popular influencer who could charm anyone into getting anything he wants and is apparently the smartest guy in the world.

“It’s not fair that you’re giving me work that I didn’t sign up for.” Ryosuke protests without thinking, forgetting that he shouldn’t talk back to his boss but he couldn’t help it. “Of course it’s going to be more difficult for me.”

Yuto blinks at him, his eyes widening ever so slightly as Ryosuke raised his voice, but it returned to a hard gaze in an instant as he stood up, circling around the table towards Ryosuke, continuing to speak.

“I don’t want to hear anything from someone who can’t do basic calculations quickly or even correctly.” Yuto states flatly. “How can I trust you to create game designs with the proper dimensions if you can’t do simple work?”

Ryosuke knew that it wasn’t his strong suit, always trying to avoid using overly complicated equations when he was coding, but he hated that Yuto knew it too even though they’ve only been working together for a short amount of time. He’s gotten this far without them anyways. Why learn the complicated stuff now when they aren’t necessary? His focus is on creating and drawing models and graphics, not what Yuto was giving him.

Or is this a challenge?

“I’ll show you I can do it.” Ryosuke stands up as well, getting up into Yuto’s face to try to be fierce, which didn’t work as well as he thought as Yuto just smirked, looking down at him. 

“Oh yeah? Do you think that you could do it? Then show me you’re capable because so far I’m not impressed.” Yuto pushes towards him, forcing him to back up into the wall, similar to the previous day. But this time, Ryosuke gasps as his body freezes when fingers touch his chin, tilting it up towards Yuto’s face. “Show me what Yamada Ryosuke can do.”

“Oh I’ll show you all right, Nakajima Yuto.” Ryosuke hisses back, not backing down.

He didn't like Yuto touching him like this, but he couldn’t move a muscle, frozen in place. As the seconds passed by, all it did was spark his competitive nature, feeling his body start to heat up. He held his gaze on Yuto, wanting to wipe that stupid smirk off his face somehow, even if he knows he can’t hit his boss.

He swears Yuto glances downwards, breaking eye contact for just a split second, suddenly aware of his hot breath on him from the close proximity, hating that he could feel his face flush. He suddenly imagines closing the gap between them and kissing him to shut him up, but he forces away the thought.

Why does he have to be physically this damn attractive?

If it was anyone other than Yuto in this kind of position he might’ve done it, but this is Yuto and he would rather jump out the window.

If he could just raise his hand to push him away from touching him… but before he could get himself to move, Yuto lets him go, straightening his tie, seemingly unaffected unlike him.

“Good. That’s the fighting spirit I’ve been wanting to see. Now let’s start this week, shall we?” Yuto opened the door, motioning him to leave first. “Let’s see you try to prove me wrong."

Ryosuke lets out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding, glaring at Yuto’s smug face as he passes him. His mind clouded, feeling too hot from his anger, thinking of all the ways he could punch Yuto to show him that he’s better than him.

He’s on.

As they leave the conference room and return to their work space, Yuto grabs a binder from his own desk and hands it to him, telling him that he needs to revise it. He would have normally complained about not being able to do design work again, but this time he was determined. It was easier to complete than last week, having done his studying yesterday, finishing it in record time.

He was already feeling more confident that he could prove himself to Yuto.

“Naka-”

“I sent you 3 programs to fix by the next hour. No time to chat.”

“...Yes, sir.”

Ryosuke drops off the assignment, wanting to ask Yuto if it was to his standards of speed and quality, but he still didn't seem too impressed. He just needed to show Yuto that he could manage whatever he gives him, to prove that he isn't "soft" and could figure out the problems.

It shouldn’t be that difficult.

As he opened up the first new program that Yuto had sent him, his eye twitches as he skims over it, having far more complicated lines of code than what he was previously given. He threw a look at Yuto and it was obvious that this was on purpose as Yuto had that annoying smirk on his face.

This is going to be a long week.

~~~

Tuesday

"This is completed." Ryosuke drops the packet of papers on Yuto’s desk, crossing his arms triumphantly as Yuto glances at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m surprised. I expected for you to take another hour for this.” Yuto takes the packet, skimming over the pages, flipping through them. 

He would never admit it to him, but it impressed him that Yuto could read so damn fast, fingers flipping through pages in seconds, seeming to be barely looking at them. He thought that he was a fast reader before meeting Yuto, but he could never beat his skill in that. So he’s just going to have to beat him in other aspects, whatever they may be.

Ryosuke turned around to head back to his desk, his mind already set on the next assignment, proud of himself for finishing earlier than Yuto expected. It felt good to surprise him.

He had spent yesterday night looking over more complicated equations similar to what he was given during the work day, drilling them into his head so that he could remember how they're used. The Chibis always did their daily quests together in Jump Party but he ended up skipping them in favor of studying. He had almost forgotten to even log into the game to get his daily login bonus.

“Yamada-kun.”

“Yes?”

“Page 5 line 23. I don’t need to read more. Redo it."

He would also never admit to him that it impressed him how easily Yuto could catch mistakes.

Ryosuke slowly turns back to Yuto, the guy already focused back on his own computer and not on him. He picks up the packet, flipping to the 5th page and line 23, the mistake obvious as soon as he read it, feeling stupid as he mentally slapped himself. But as Yuto had said, he had to redo most of what comes after since it affected the pages after the mistake. Ryouke groaned internally as he reopened the program, going through each line one by one to make sure he doesn't embarrass himself again.

It took him an hour.

~~~

Wednesday

"How is this?" Ryosuke leans his palms onto Yuto's desk, waiting for his response on his last assignment that he had to redo after Yuto found his mistakes he didn't see. 

"You…" Yuto tilts his head to the side and Ryosuke leans closer, holding his breath. "You still messed this one up. Fix it again." Yuto points to an equation that he swore he had right this time.

It was a common line of code and something that he was constantly getting wrong, so Yuto had personally lectured him about it earlier, informing him of its usage and how it could be manipulated in many situations. He was surprised that Yuto even took the time to teach it to him, having expected him to be an asshole and tell him to figure it out on his own as he always did to him. Yuto was a better teacher than he thought, so he was sure he had it down for this extra assignment he was given.

"What? What's wrong with it this time?" Ryosuke grabs the paper, squinting at the line. 

"Were you not listening when I explained it earlier? Which number needs to be multiplied by what and then?”

"The third number needs to be doubled and moved to the end." Ryosuke recites in a monotone voice, Yuto's works replaying in his head.

"Good, I knew your head can do it.” Yuto reaches to pat his head but Ryosuke steps away. “Now go fix it then start on the next assignment." Yuto shoos him off.

It was only a few days after Yuto's challenge but he felt like he was starting to get a hand of the work after having spent almost two weeks working under him now. 

Tomorrow is the day he'll get everything right.

~~~

Thursday

“Yamada-kun did you-”

“I sent back Project 9 with the correct code to your email and I’m almost done with this one.” Ryosuke interrupts without looking away from the computer, feeling his fingers speed across the keyboard, mumbling relevant information to himself.

"Oh?" Yuto hums, watching him work for a moment before settling at his computer to look at said project.

It was the last day of the work week and Ryosuke still needed to complete his work perfectly without having Yuto scold him for anything. He was close yesterday, but had that one mess up. Everything was already beginning to come more naturally to him, the information coming to him more easily than he expected and he wonders why he never took the time to learn all of this before.

Though he didn’t even know why he was trying so hard to prove himself to Yuto… well he really wants that recommendation.

“And that should be the last thing.” Ryosuke says smugly, handing Yuto a hard copy, confident in this last assignment for the day.

All of his other assignments for the day didn’t receive many comments, only getting an ‘okay’ or a nod here and there. He wanted this to be perfect, to meet Yuto’s standards to show that he could handle whatever Yuto throws at him.

Yuto hums again but he opens up the program on his computer, nodding in approval as no syntax errors appear to make it crash. Then, he opens up the code, scrolling through the hundreds of lines and Ryosuke is still surprised every time how fast Yuto could read them. Ryosuke begins to sweat from nerves as Yuto keeps scrolling, watching as his dark eyes move back and forth. Looks that could truly kill someone.

“You’re a fast learner.”

Ryosuke raises an eyebrow.

"So does that mean it's good?"

Yuto puts the packet down, looking straight at him, sighing. 

"It's still not great, but it's workable. There’s some extra data stored that isn’t needed but that’s fine. I'm surprised that your work is actually improving, good job, Yamada-kun.”

Ryosuke sighs with relief, as Yuto seemed to be somewhat pleased, getting a “good job” from him. He tried not to look smug when it was hardly a compliment but it was the first step into making Yuto recognize his work, feeling proud of himself. If he could just keep this up and continue to improve then he could win Yuto’s challenge.

“Next week I’ll show even better results, just you wait.”

“Then, I’ll be waiting.” Yuto smirks, lightly punching his arm. “We’re having our weekly section dinner tonight, are you free to join?”

Ryosuke rubs where Yuto hit, considering punching him back but he was more interested in Yuto’s question.

“We have weekly section dinners? Why wasn’t I invited last week?”

“You were, but you stormed off everytime I tried to ask. And you didn’t respond to my texts.”

He does recall Yuto asking him if he was free last week on Thursdays but he did brush him off every time, saying he was busy.

“Well I can’t tonight anyways I already have plans.” he replies, not wanting to spend extra time with Yuto anyways when he’s already spent too much time in the same room together, having to speak with him more than he would like.

Technically he does have plans later to play video games with the Chibis since he didn’t get to properly play with them all week, so he was getting antsy to get his hands on his keyboard to mash some buttons and kill monsters. Plus he didn’t feel like he would fit in with the section yet, not having spoken to his coworkers much.

“Okay, you should join us one night. It’s free food on me.” Yuto shrugs. “Good bye, Yamada-kun.”

As much as Ryosuke would love free food, he didn’t want someone like Yuto to pay for him, typically being the one to pay and give gifts to his friends instead.

He suddenly thought of Yujikku always giving him weird or random gifts and he figured it’s different since it’s a game, but he supposes he should actually try giving something back. Even if the guy seems to have everything already. There are plenty of rare collectables he could try to get for him, knowing that Yujikku liked to collect everything.

As he takes the train home, he could only think about talking to his friends and relaxing since he’s been so focused on work, feeling tense all over. While he still has his convenience store job tomorrow, it doesn’t bother him as much since he could laze around a bit when there are less customers.

He deserves a reward.

~~~

“Next week I’ll show Nakajima Yuto what I can do.” Ryosuke says through gritted teeth, clicking his keyboard to attack the boss in front of him. “I’m getting used to his workload.”

“You’ve been working hard lately, Yama, happy to finally see you online this week.” Daiki comments. “Ah I lost aggro since I was distracted.”

Chinen cries out as the boss targets him instead of Daiki, who is supposed to protect him, running to a far corner so that he could stay out of the range, attacking from afar using his magic.

“If I die it’s over for both of you.” Chinen points out. “Also Ryosuke you’ve been saying that for the past  _ hour _ . Can you wait to talk about your work until after we kill this guy?”

“He thinks he's so great when he’s not.” Ryosuke continues, ignoring Chinen’s request as he misses his next attack, swinging against air. “Who does he think he is?”

In the end, the three barely managed to defeat the boss with only Daiki left alive with low health, Ryosuke having accidently led the boss to attack Chinen again, killing him and then also himself right after.

They gather in a town, sitting on a bench together so that they could just talk to each other.

“So, now that we’re not distracted being in a dungeon, how’s working with the hotshot?” Chinen questions.

“Don't call him that in front of me he's still-"

"I'm not in front of you."

"Whatever. He's still being a real pain in the ass, but I got some praise from him earlier so I think I'm starting to get it."

"Wow, imagine getting praised by Nakajima Yuto. Did he pat your head and call you a good boy?" Daiki teases.

Ryosuke chokes on air, feeling weird after having that mental image of Yuto doing that to him, especially since he  _ has  _ patted his head before and attempted to multiple times. He remembers how Yuto had touched his chin earlier in the week and he has to shake his head to get rid of the tingles in his skin.

That guy is way too touchy.

"What? Ew. Gross. He just said that my work is improving that's all."

"Are you falling in love yet?"

"I know you can't see me, but I am rolling my eyes right now, Chi."

As if he would fall in love with someone like him. Who even falls in love with their fucking boss anyways?

“He’s literally all you think and talk about, you’re obsessed with him.”

“Not true.”

“True.”

"Anyways, I looked into the guy’s social media and he doesn't seem all too bad." puzzled Daiki. "He seems... nice? At least to his fans."

"That's what he wants you to think! I’m sure that's how he gets girls on his side, they probably just like his good looks." Ryosuke exclaims. "But at work he thinks he's so hot and smart and-"

"How many times are you going to say that? You just admitted that he has good looks, which he does.” interrupted Chinen. “Besides, didn't you actually like him at some point? You used to talk about him allll the time. Not that that’s changed."

"Well…. I mean yes, wait no. That's not the point." Ryosuke stuttered, trying not to remember the time when he did like him. “After spending a few weeks with him I can now say he’s fucking annoying, I don’t know why I even remotely liked him.”

“Since you’re stuck working with him, you might as well become friends with him, wouldn’t it be favorable for you to have someone as influential as Yuto on your side?”

“Well… yes but-”

“If you’re nice to him then maybe he'll be nicer to you and support you.” Daiki suggests. 

“I don’t need his support.”

He wouldn’t be able to look at himself if he gained popularity just because some other popular guy recommended his work, he needed to do it on his own.

“If we’re talking about support then just date him.”

“I am NOT going to date Nakajima-san.”

“You’ve been complaining that you don’t have a boyfriend and then someone who seems like he would be a good boyfriend comes into your life. Is that luck or what?”

“If it’s luck then it’s bad luck.”

“Come on, Yuto would treat you so well... and also be real good in bed.”

Ryosuke blushes, having the mental image of Yuto leaning over him against the wall again, how his lips curved in that smirk and how much he burned to punch him. He remembers how he had the fleeting thought to kiss him and he has to shake his head to get rid of the thought again.

“Do you think he even likes guys? I know he’s dated girls before but I don’t remember seeing anything about him and guys. Yama do you know?” Daiki asks.

“What? How am I supposed to know?”

“You’re getting close to him, ask him.”

“I’m not close to him and that’s like asking for a death wish.”

“Maybe he’s in a secret relationship already and that’s why you can’t date him.”

“Oooh you might be on to something Dai-chan.”

Ryosuke sighs loudly as Chinen and Daiki discuss the idea that Yuto could be involved in several scandals and why Ryosuke doesn’t date him. He didn’t mean for the conversation to go in this direction, wondering if Yuto would be a good boyfriend like his friends were saying, which it’s obvious he wouldn’t be.

“Anyways, do you guys want to help me kill some sand rabbits to get their summon?" Ryosuke tries to change the subject, tired of talking and thinking about Yuto.

"The drop that lets you keep the monster as a pet? Those things are so rare though, people have hunted nonstop for days and don’t even get a single drop!" Daiki frowns. "I thought you weren't interested in having one since everyone loves sand rabbits. Why do you want one all of a sudden?"

A small, cute and round rabbit appeared next to Chinen's character, named "Yuri".

"Well they are the cutest monster in the game, as I am the cutest person in the game. Who wouldn't want one to bounce along your side?"

"I forgot that you had one, Chi. How long did it take you again?"

"Only a week. It's worth it."

"See, they're rare and cute right? Wouldn't it be a nice gift?" Ryosuke pressed, hoping it wasn’t a stupid idea. 

"A gift? For who?"

"Yujikku."

“Aww since you can’t have Yuto you turn to winning Yujikku over, you’re so cute.” Chinen laughs. “Huh… Yuto and Yujikku…”

“Shut up! It’s not like that, it's just he gave me this weapon effect and I figured I should give him something back.” Ryosuke felt himself blush, thinking that it must be because Chinen called him cute as Chinen is the cutest.

“I was wondering where you got that from, that’s nice of him.” Daiki chuckles. “I just thought you bought one of the mystery boxes and got it. It is pretty neat.”

“The guy had extras so he just gave one to me. The rabbit kinda reminds me of him, you know? Is it stupid after all?" he bit his lip, worried. 

"No it's not stupid, it's just cute that you want to give back. How about all the other stuff he's given you? You're not going to give him something that costs real money like scrolls?" Chinen asked.

"I’m not going to give him something that costs real money. Yet.”

"Yet."

"Once I get paid then maybe."

"Cute."

"I don't know what you're talking about. So are you guys going to help me hunt or not?"

"Okay okay, I'll help."

"Good. You two better not tell him my plan, got it?"

"Got it."

They teleport to the map where sand rabbits spawned, beginning to hunt. Daiki suggested that they wait until a double drop event, but Ryosuke insisted that they start hunting now when not many people were trying. He also didn't want to delay his gift for too long, as the longer he waited the more awkward it would be for him to give it.

“Why the sand rabbit? He would probably like anything you give him."

"What is that supposed to mean??"

“He would probably still love you if you gave him one of those ugly goblin figures.”

“He would probably hate me if I gave him one. But giving one to you is fine since you’re a goblin, Dai-chan.”

“HEY.”

Without noticing, a couple of hours passed as they idly hunted even while eating dinner, talking about whatever came to mind. Of course, whenever the conversation turned to Yuto, Ryosuke changed it as fast as he could, earning laughs from the other two. Just as they started talking about Yujikku and how he helped them kill this boss, Ryosuke heard an alert.

_ Yujikku has logged on.  _

"Oh look, the guy himself just logged on." Ryosuke comments.

_ Kurusuke: Hi Yujikku! _

_ Yujikku: Hihi Kurusuke!! _

_ What are you up to?  _

_ Kurusuke: Nothing at all _

_ Yujikku: Want to do some dungeons together? _

_ Kurusuke: Uh I'm a little busy  _

_ Yujikku: Oh _

_ But you just said you weren't doing anything  _

_ Kurusuke: Uh _

_ Yujikku: Are you trying to get a sand rabbit summon? They're so cute! _

_ Kurusuke: How did you know?? _

_ Yujikku: You're in the Far Desert _

_ I can see your location on my friend's list _

_ Kurusuke: Right  _

A person appeared on the map he and his friends were hunting on, annoyed that the person stole some of his kills but then realized it was Yujikku. His character was in a completely different outfit than the last time he saw him a few days ago, unsurprisingly. But he did notice that he kept the electric weapon effect that he has equipped, still matching in that aspect.

_ Yujikku: I can help you c: _

_ Sabonen: Hi Yujikku! _

_ Kurusuke: It's fine you don't have to! _

_ Daikingu: Hey Yujikku! _

_ Yujikku: Hihi Daikingu! Sabonen! Nice to see both of you here as well c: _

_ I'm going to help anyways _

_ Add me to your party  _

_ Kurusuke: Ugh fine _

_ Sabonen: I see you two have matching weapon effects hehe  _

_ Yujikku: Yep! _

_ Daikingu: #goals _

Ryosuke rolls his eyes but ends up inviting him to his party. He's not sure if having him help him get his gift is wrong or not.

He was distracted thinking about it when Daiki gasped loudly.

"YAMA THAT'S IT!"

"Huh? Stop screaming you idiot. What's it?"

"On your right by your feet dumbass. You know the thing we've been trying to get for a couple of hours now?"

Ryosuke looks at the dropped items when he notices a golden card with a picture of a sand rabbit.

"OH HOLY SHIT. HOW DID I MISS IT."

_ Kurusuke: I cannot believe you've been in the party for like two minutes and a summon drops _

_ Yujikku: Yay!! _

_ Now you can have a cute rabbit by your side c: _

_ Sabonen: Actually he wasn't trying to get it for himself _

_ Daikingu: It's for someone else  _

_ Yujikku: Oh well that person must be very lucky to receive it _

_ Sabonen: Yeah. Real lucky, right Kurusuke _

_ Kurusuke: I hate all of you _

He figures he can't back out now, considering Chinen and Daiki will probably tell Yujikku anyways. So he requests a trade with him, adding the summon to the trade and confirming, waiting for Yujikku to confirm as well. He didn't accept right away and he again worried that it was a stupid idea, until Yujikku places something to trade with him, accepting the trade. 

He opens his inventory to see a different but equally as rare summon of a toy poodle monster.

_ Yujikku: How did you know I collect these?? I'm so happy!! <3 _

_ Kurusuke: Wait you don't need to give me a different summon let me give it back _

He tries to send another trade request, but gets rejected.

_ Yujikku: ?? _

_ I had it lying around so I thought why not? _

_ Kurusuke: This was supposed to be me thanking you for all the things you’ve done for me! Not an equal trade  _

_ Yujikku: Ohhh  _

_ Oh well too late c: _

A sand rabbit appears next to Yujikku's character and Ryosuke chuckles a little as he sees his own character's name under the fluffball.

_ Kurusuke: You named it after me lol  _

_ Yujikku: Of course! _

_ Kurusuke: Then I'll name the poodle you gave me after you?  _

_ Yujikku: Yay~ _

_ Sabonen: Can you two stop being cute _

_ Daikingu: Why are you two acting like a couple _

_ Yujikku: Are we?? _

_ Kurusuke: We’re not!!! >< _

Ryosuke cannot escape the teasing of his friends and them trying to get him to get a boyfriend.


	5. Chapter 5

As Monday came around again, Ryosuke was ready to stab someone on his way to work, fed up with working with numbers for the past two weeks. Waking up for work today was hell as he had to force himself to roll out of bed, losing more sleep over thinking about work.

He can’t stop thinking about how to better himself to somehow get some of the spotlight that Yuto has, but everything he did just wasn’t good enough for him. He knows he can’t back down from his challenge, doing everything he could to try to impress Yuto in his remaining time he promised to be here. He’s sure he’s getting closer but he gets a headache everytime he sees Yuto on his feed, noticing he’s been popping up more than usual.

Chinen and Daiki have begun to watch Yuto’s videos and follow him on his social media, telling him that Yuto was more funny than they expected and told him to watch and follow him, which Ryosuke would rather delete his accounts than follow him.

Two more weeks. 

He arrives at the office, noticing only a few people there early like him, Yuto of course being one of them. 

“Good morning, Yamada-kun. You look fired up today."

Yeah right.

“Good morning Nakajima-san.” he reluctantly greets Yuto, his mouth twitching into a smile, as he takes his seat in front of his computer, anxious for what’s going to happen this week for work. He’s ready to handle more numbers, trying to tell himself to be more confident. It’s all he’s been focused on improving in himself.

Yuto hands him a binder and Ryosuke swallows as he takes and opens it, expecting lines and lines of numbers as always, but what greeted him instead were a bunch of cartoon-like sketches.

"What are these?"

“I supposed I did what I promised to do to improve your weaknesses last week so I believe you’re ready to start what you’re here for.” Yuto replied. “Could you create some 3d models for these designs?”

Ryosuke blinks at him, expecting this to be some joke but Yuto blinks back at him with seriousness. He couldn’t believe his ears, looking between Yuto and the binder, unable to comprehend what he was holding. He can finally start working with designing? Even if it’s just working with someone else’s character designs, it was still a step he wanted to take and it was much more fun than compiling numbers.

“What do you mean you did what you promised?” Ryosuke furrows his brows, suspicious of Yuto looking and acting more... normal rather than barking orders at him. He didn't look as old and grumpy.

But he still felt a burning desire to punch him.

“Jun-san told me about all the times you slacked off at the convenience store so we decided to see if you would change your work ethics if I was rough on you since he's too nice to do it.” Yuto explains. “He’s happy to see you working harder though.”

“The old- I mean Jun-san was part of this?” Ryosuke questions, surprised yet not too surprised.

So this whole thing was some sort of punishment for him for oversleeping often and missing shifts like he expected. Fuck him. He should have known. He can almost imagine the old man cackling at him in the distance and he was already planning on going to the store and see if he can talk to him as soon as he gets out of here.

Does this mean that the Yuto who knew from the past two weeks wasn’t the real Yuto?

“I like to test newbies to see how much work they are capable of in the first week or two and adjust their future workload accordingly.” Yuto adds. “You’re still not great, but as I have said before, you have potential.”

It was just like Yujikku had said, he was testing him.

“How far am I from being considered good?” he dared to ask.

“Far from it.” Yuto replies without missing a beat. “But I believe I gave you enough hints for your apps to be alright now, haven't I?" Yuto smirked.

His apps? Did his apps have something to do with this? Were the bugs from him using too simple coding? He does feel like he understands more after having to reteach himself the particular problems given to him for the past weeks.

It pisses him off that Yuto made him realise that.

“It’s fun to watch you squirm a bit, but I can’t wait to see you continue to prove me wrong, Yamada Ryosuke.” Yuto ruffles his hair slightly and Ryosuke impulsively swats the hand away, glaring at him as he attempts to smooth out his hair, but Yuto just laughs as he walks away.

Why is he always so touchy?

He just ignores that thought, his nerves tingling too much, figuring it was because he was getting excited to start his design work, already thinking about how he wanted to draw the character designs in front of him, opening the program he needed and getting to work right away.

It was the first time he actually enjoyed doing his work, even if doing this one thing took the whole day. Even during his lunch break he sat at his computer, eating his homemade lunch as he scrutinized his work, ignoring Yuto’s scolding not to make a mess at the computers. He loved seeing how he was able to make a simple sketch on paper turn into something more real and 3-d on the computer, playing with different facial expressions and paying close attention to the slight details on different types of outfits, hoping that whoever created them would be satisfied with his work.

But he mainly wanted to impress Nakajima Yuto and show him that he was at least good at this, wanting to blow his mind.

Yuto didn't even bother him much all day like he usually does to give him more work, simply checking in every so often to see how much progress he made and to make sure he was still working rather than slacking off.

As Ryosuke finished up his work, he was one of the last people left in the room, having stayed a bit overtime for the finishing touches rather than leaving them for tomorrow. He felt proud of himself, the models he made looked really good to him and he's confident that Yuto will like them as well. Carefully making sure to save his work and sending the files to Yuto, he gets up with a stretch, having been sitting there for too long, wanting to buy a drink before he heads home.

He wanted to tell his Chibis friends that work didn't go as badly today as other days and play video games with them. For once he wasn't frustrated after work, maybe tomorrow is going to be the same, wondering what kind of work he'll get next, hoping that this wasn’t just a one day ordeal, expecting Yuto to be barking at him again.

On his way to the vending machine, he runs into Yuto and he forces himself to smile, still mad at him for treating him like shit for the past couple of weeks. 

"Oh, good work today Yamada-kun. How far did you get on the models?"

"Good work today Nakajima-san, and I finished all of them."

Yuto raises an eyebrow, humming a little.

"Did you now? If I had given that assignment to anyone else it would have taken at least another day. They better not be sloppy, but from what I saw earlier you seem fit for this, huh?" he seemed surprised that he had finished, Ryosuke feeling smug that he could do it faster than others and was able to surprise Nakajima Yuto.

"I sure did, I even sent the files to you already."

"Good job, I'll take a look at them later. Here."

Ryosuke is caught off guard as a can of juice hits his chest, his hands barely scrambling fast enough to catch it. 

“I can’t have you just give this to me-”

"You deserve it for having to put up with me the past couple of weeks. Sorry." Yuto continues, a soft expression that he’s never seen him have before.

Yuto seemed exhausted, prominent bags under his eyes, but Ryosuke’s not sure if it was just the dim lighting of the hallway and considering it was the end of the work day. Now that he thinks about it again, he knows that Yuto wasn’t around for most of the day, having to step in and out of the room multiple times due to meetings and phone calls.

The taller man gives his hair another ruffle, already starting to head in the opposite direction. He was too baffled to respond, the apology sounding too foreign for him. All he could do was watch Yuto's back as he disappeared around a corner, most likely to do more work even though it was already so late.

Plus his hair felt weird, feeling the same tingles he felt earlier, running a hand through it, feeling too messy now after Yuto had ruffled it twice today.

Yuto is just really weird.

But it's fine because there's only two more weeks with him. 

Yeah. 

Two more weeks.

~~~

On his way back to his apartment, he stopped by the convenience store to see if his boss was in, wanting to confront him for having purposefully put up with Yuto. Ryosuke’s sure that he told Jun that he didn’t like Yuto at some point now that he thought about it, wondering if this was some elaborate plan.

Unsurprisingly, Jun had already left, so he ended up just chatting with his poor coworker currently on shift, catching up.

While they were discussing the newest hits on the radio, Ryosuke feels a tug on his sleeve, turning to see a younger teenage girl next to him.

“Um, if you need help then-” Ryosuke begins, pointing at his coworker on shift, not wanting to deal with customers when it’s not his turn, but the girl interrupts him.

“Hi! You work with Yutti, right? I’m pretty sure I saw you with him the other day.” the girl gave him a bright smile.

So that’s why she wants to talk to him. Ryosuke frowns, feeling like his private life was starting to get stalked by his fans, but there was no point in lying if she’s seen him before.

“Yeah I do, and what-”

“Do you think Yutti would like it if I bought this for him?” she interrupts him again, pushing a pack of candied strawberries in his face.

He knows that he himself likes the candy, but he has no clue if Yuto does, though he wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t like it because he looks like someone with bad taste.

“How should I know and why would you give him something from here?” Ryosuke questioned, knowing there are much better places to buy gifts if she wanted to give someone like Yuto something.

Now the girl looks at him with confusion.

“Haven’t you seen his post on Twitter where he talked about this store?”

He had forgotten that some of his fans started buying from the store after Yuto started to stop by, but he didn’t know that he made a public post about it. It was a good thing for the store to get more customers, but it had also meant more work for him.

Now he realizes how he used to slack off.

“Oh yeah right, I think uh… Yu-Yu-Yutti... does like that brand, you should buy it.” he suggests, not actually caring if Yuto liked it but if it would get her to buy it and increase profits then it would be fine. He can’t believe that he even used the nickname that his fans gave him for the first time, the word leaving some kind of weird taste in his mouth.

Never again.

The girl squeals a little, running to the counter to buy a couple packs and Ryosuke couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

Easy.

He was going to head out so he can go home when he feels another tug at his sleeve.

“Wait, I’m not finished talking to you.” The girl stopped him. “What else would he like? How many should I buy him? What should I-”

“Slow down.” Ryosuke covered her mouth, annoyed. “Just… here buy this for him.” he took the closest thing next to him, which happened to be the same bar of chocolate that Yuto had bought from him the other day.

The girl didn’t question him and bought the chocolate and continued to ask him for more suggestions.

How much money is this girl willing to spend?

After having to deal with her for a bit longer until she was satisfied with a selection of sweets, he was finally able to leave the store, feeling exhausted.

There goes his good mood.

He gets home, ready to become lazy and play video games until he needs to rest for another day of work tomorrow. He’s been so busy with work and the changes in his schedule that he hasn’t found much time for relaxing and playing video games, instantly feeling comfortable in his gaming chair as he opens up discord to see who was online.

Where he felt like home.

_ Kurusuke: Is anyone online and willing to do dungeons with me on Jump Party? _

_ Daikingu: I can _

_ Sabonen: Logging on _

_ Kurusuke: Sweet, see you guys in the voice channel? _

He enters the voice chat, followed by Chinen and Daiki within seconds.

“What’s up dorks.” Ryosuke greets them, feeling like his night was already better hearing them talk.

They do their daily dungeons, their luck giving them the longest ones with tons of cutscenes.

“Oh right, Chinen did you watch Yuto’s newest video he uploaded today?” Daiki asks during one of the cutscenes and Ryosuke has to hold in a frustrated scream at the mention of the name.

“Yes it was definitely one of my favorites that he’s done recently, it was so funny seeing his reactions on those roller coasters.” Chinen exclaims. “The best one was the one where it had started going backwards.”

“When he was repeatedly screaming for his mom? That was great.” Daiki agrees. “I can’t believe he would do something that scares him for his fans, but it was funny to see him almost cry.”

“It would be so much fun to ride one with him, wouldn’t it be, Ryosuke?” Chinen directs the conversation at him.

“What? You both know I hate roller coasters and having to be stuck in a small car with Yuto while I scream my head off is not what I want.”

“There are other places where you can be stuck together while you-”

“Don’t even finish that.”

“Anyways, speaking of Yuto, how was work today?” Daiki switched gears. “I’m surprised you haven’t said a single thing about it yet. What did he do to you today?”

Ryosuke had almost forgotten that his work day wasn’t bad, having been thinking about having to deal with one of his fangirls.

“I don’t think you guys are going to believe me, but I got to make some models today from some sketches.” Ryosuke felt his excitement about it return.

“You mean the whole thing that you’ve been wanting to do? Finally!” Chinen cheered.

“That’s awesome, Yama-chan. Did Yuto praise your work today too?” Daiki chimed in.

“Right? I didn’t get any feedback on the finished products yet since I submitted them then left right after, but he didn’t say anything was wrong when he checked in every so often.” Ryosuke thinks back to how he ran into Yuto before leaving, clearing his throat as he remembered how Yuto threw the can of juice at him and then ruffled his hair, messing up his perfect style.

Twice.

The cutscene in their game ends, the three having to place some of their focus back into the game.

“But that’s not even the weirdest thing.” Ryosuke continues, distracted by having to control his character as well, but he wanted to mention this before he forgets and they were on the topic. “Apparently he and the old man were working together to test me to try to make me work harder.”

“So Yuto was being strict with you just because Jun-san told him to?” Chinen questioned.

“I have no idea, but the aura that he gave was completely different today, like a switch in him just made him… calmer.”

“His personality changed?”

“I think? I don’t know, I actually didn’t talk to him much since he was out for meetings or something and I was focused on my work all day.”

“Wouldn’t it be funny if he just started being all nice to you? Like that video where he went around the city giving compliments and gifts to random people.”

“Oh yeah that was a cute video, I loved the part where he-”

“Ugggh can we stop talking about his dumb videos and focus on the fight?” Ryosuke groaned, tired of hearing about his videos, having seen clips of that one appear on his social media before when everyone screamed about how kind he was, when it must have been completely staged.

“Hey, you were the one who continued the conversation about him.” Daiki countered.

“Whatever. I hope you die when we reach the boss.”

“You two better  _ not _ .” Chinen warned them. “I can and will let both of you die.”

“Okay let’s not do that, I don’t want Chi to kill us and have to redo this.” Ryosuke says quickly.

“Good.”

~~~

The next day at work, he was anxious, but to his relief, his work was creating more models for some more sketches, glad that his work seems to have changed for good. Yuto seemed to have his usual energy and he wondered if last night was just his imagination seeing him so tired.

He tried to focus his attention on his work rather than thinking about Yuto’s condition, but he couldn’t help but notice a small gift bag on Yuto’s desk, curious if the girl from last night had actually given all those sweets to him.

As he finished up one of the models, he printed it out and headed over to Yuto’s desk to ask if it was okay, but he was more interested in the gift bag.

“It looks fine, but if you adjusted the angle a little more it would be better.” Yuto commented after examining them.

“Hm okay.” Ryosuke responds, his eyes on the bag.

Yuto notices that Ryosuke wasn’t listening properly, and he reaches into the bag, taking out one of the sweets that he had made the girl buy.

“A fan gave these to me when I came into work today, but there’s too many so I was planning on sharing them with the section.” Yuto explains, handing him the sweet.

“What else is in there?” Ryosuke asks, wanting the candied strawberries instead.

Yuto pushes the bag closer to him, allowing him to look through it, but he didn’t find what he wanted. As he becomes disappointed that someone beat him to it, a glint from the small nearby trash can catches his eye, seeing the exact wrapper he wanted.

“You like candied strawberries?” he found himself asking, surprised that Yuto had good taste and liked something that he liked.

“Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits.” Yuto responds without looking at him. “Enough chit-chat, take a sweet and go back to work, Yamada-kun.”

“Yes, sir.”

As he got back to his desk, he couldn’t help but wonder what else they had in common, but he shakes his head, not caring about whatever Yuto likes. He could like everything that he does and he still wouldn’t care about him.

At the end of the day, the two ended up being the only ones left in the office, Ryosuke barely managing to submit his work for the day, letting Yuto look over it to give him the okay before he could leave.

“I think you've got a pretty good knack for this stuff.” Yuto nodded. “They look fine enough, good work today.”

Ryosuke sighs with relief, having worked his ass off to finish it, feeling satisfied with them and having been able to meet the deadlines that Yuto had set. He was tired and he was ready to just go home and take his mind off of work.

“Thank you, I’ll be taking my leave now, goodbye, Nakajima-san.” Ryosuke bows politely, turning away when Yuto speaks again.

“Hey, Yamada-kun, I’ve been thinking about something.”

He stops in his tracks, turning back to Yuto who had stood up and walked closer to him, swallowing as Yuto examined him from head to toe, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

Why did he suddenly feel self-conscious?

“How about this,” Yuto leans down closer to Ryosuke’s face, surprising the shorter, his eyes widening. “Let’s have a bet.”

A bet?

“What kind of bet?” he says, already determined to not lose to Nakajima Yuto and forgetting the close distance.

"You're planning on quitting the company after next week right? It's been almost a month."

"Yeah and so what?" he was honestly surprised that Yuto remembered that he said he was only going to stay for a month. 

"I’m getting the impression that you're getting cocky with your work.” Yuto begins. “But you have so much to improve so I propose we have a small… game.”

Ryosuke's eyebrows raise, his heart racing at the low tone Yuto was using, interested in the game that Yuto wants to play.

“Tell me the rules and you’re on.” Ryosuke says with confidence in his skills, trying to make himself seem taller to face Yuto.

“We take the same sketch and create a model of it, anything goes creativity wise, and whoever makes a better one after a week wins?” Yuto suggests.

Ryosuke raises an eyebrow. Anything goes? Yuto hasn’t seen what he can come up with for designs yet, not having been able to create his own yet, so Yuto is just digging his own grave. He wasn’t about to refuse another challenge from Yuto anyways, wanting to put him down after being the one being put down by him.

Guess he won’t be able to relax today after all.

“Alright, sounds simple enough. Who are the judges?”

“Let’s just limit it to our section. Of course, they won’t know which one is who’s. When I win..." Yuto continues. "You stay with the company and cooperate with me?” his eyes sparkle at him.

Did he just say  _ when _ he wins?

“And let’s say if I win?” he narrows his eyes.

Something about it seemed suspicious, but Ryosuke pushed that thought away, focusing on beating Yuto no matter what.

Why is Nakajima Yuto trying so hard to work with him? 

“If you do win, which I don’t think you will…” Yuto stops to think. “I leave you alone and you can quit for whatever reason you have.”

Ryosuke bites his lip. Would he really leave him alone?

It honestly sounded tempting.

"Fine. You have no idea how I am when I get serious with this stuff." Ryosuke smirks.

“Okay, deal!” Yuto grins, holding out his hand and Ryosuke takes it firmly.

“Deal.”

~~~

Ugh.

Yuto sighs as he finally makes it back to his apartment, sluggishly looking at the time.

12:30 am.

He should have been home earlier but he got a call from the higher ups demanding for a project to be finished even though the deadline should be the end of tomorrow, so he rushed to get it checked and turned in barely on time. It was a surprise to himself, relieved when he finished it, praying that it was to their liking.

It’s suffocating, feeling like he’s drowning in all the papers and computer programs. As soon as he finishes one, there’s ten more coming his way, neverending.

But he has to have it done, he was the only one that could do it.

Yuto shakes his head, sighing again. His body is too heavy, collapsing on his couch, squeezing his eyes shut, telling himself it's just for a moment. There just isn’t any time he can afford to waste.

To keep his mind awake, he goes through a mental list of work he has to finish still.

Sakuma's proposal needs to be edited. Mizuki's models need to be checked. Hana's code needs to be fixed for inspection. Then there’s also two YouTube videos he wants to finish editing and uploaded this week as well. Maybe it would be a good time to upload his Instagram? No it’s too late people won’t see it… then Twitter?

Yuto groans out loud, everything beginning to blend in together, sitting up and ignoring his headache. Why can't he ask for someone else to check their work? Why can't he tell them to do it themselves?

He clenches his teeth, wanting desperately to be liked, to be seen as a good boss and to show that he is more than just an influencer that just got the job because he’s popular. He’s smart, he’s talented. He just needs to show that he is.

He made that bet with Ryosuke without thinking, wanting to challenge him. But maybe he also wanted to challenge himself, noticing that Ryosuke has so much potential in creating after seeing just a little bit of how he works.

Yamada Ryosuke is interesting to him. 

It was fun for him to bring him down, seeing him struggle as he works hard, knowing he could be pushed even further as he accepts anything thrown at him. He almost felt jealous that he stands straight after being knocked down each time, keeping that bratty personality.

Yet now he doesn’t want him to hate him anymore, starting to feel sorry for pushing him so hard, wondering if he could make up for it somehow or if he’s fucked up too badly already, considering he seemed to hate him before they began talking.

With a sigh, he turns on his computer, realizing he has several missed messages from his friends, giving him some joy to distract himself from all his duties, trying not to think of work.

Especially his newest friend, Kurusuke, who has always been so kind and fun to talk to. The guy is just a breath of fresh air and he’s become attached to doing everything with him. He can’t stop thinking of when he wanted to give him a present, feeling happy that he worked hard to get something so rare for him.

Kurusuke is utterly adorable, reading his message that he wishes he can give him a good luck charm since he couldn’t make it to their plans today with his project, surprised that he wasn’t annoyed for cancelling on a short notice.

Yuto wonders if he should reveal himself, wondering if he even knows who “Yutomania” is, but he’s afraid Kurusuke wouldn’t want to be his friend anymore so he keeps it a secret.

After all, Yujikku is just another personality.


	6. Chapter 6

_Ryosuke: Are you free tonight, Keito?_

_Keito: I should be after work, why?_

_Ryosuke: I was wondering if maybe you want to go out for dinner together tonight?_

_Keito: Sure!_

Ryosuke releases his breath, glad that he can see Keito again, the one who would be able to understand his work stories best since they work at the same company. He liked texting him, but he finds himself wanting to meet up with Keito, growing quite fond of the other man, hoping to be able to see him more.

He has been focused on the bet that Yuto made with him yesterday all last night, thinking of working on creating 3-d models everywhere he is. He liked doing it, but he couldn’t help but be suspicious when Yuto handed him something new to work on, something about his face mocking and looking down on him.

After they made their little bet, Yuto tried to buy him the program they use at work but Ryosuke argued that he has one just as good on his own computer at home and he prefers using that one since he’s comfortable with it.

~~~

“What, you think I can’t make something good with my program?” Ryosuke crosses his arms. "I refuse to have you pay for something that I don't even need."

“Everyone knows that this one is higher quality, I just thought if we used the same one it would be an even match.” Yuto rolls his eyes, tapping his foot.

“How about _you_ use what _I’m_ using then?”

“Okay, it doesn’t matter what I use anyways. The result is still going to be the same.”

“Yeah because I'm still going to win.”

"Sure thing, Yamada-kun."

~~~

His phone makes a small noise, indicating his break was almost over, needing to go back to work soon. Quickly texting Keito back with a time and place suggestion, he puts his phone away and heads back to his desk.

“Yamada-kun?”

A soft, feminine voice and a tap on Ryosuke’s shoulder had him jump in his seat, turning around to see one of his coworkers behind him.

“Yes? Uh…” he smiled, recalling having talked to her before, but he couldn’t remember her name, Yuki-chan or Mina-chan maybe? He hasn't spoken enough to the people around him to remember everyone yet, feeling too awkward.

“Are you going to the section dinner tomorrow night?”

Ryosuke frowned, thinking he had better things to do rather than go to one of those. He had started to talk to his coworkers more, who all knew of Yuto’s plan and joined in on ignoring him, but he still didn’t feel like he belonged enough to go to their weekly gathering, clearly feeling a professional relationship between them instead of friendly.

But he had to admit that he was having a better time at work these last couple days compared to the first two weeks as people came up to him to chat and give advice. Even though he still would rather stay indoors by himself right after work, maybe he wouldn’t mind going out for one of the section dinners that Yuto holds once he gets more comfortable.

“Sorry, I don’t think I have the time tomorrow night.” he lies, hoping that these meetings aren’t mandatory and he doesn’t have to explain why he can’t make it.

“Oh…” the woman looked slightly disappointed. “You haven’t been to one yet so we’d all like it if you would join us one day.” she explained. 

“Yeah, Yamada-kun, you should come along.” another one of his coworkers chides in. “Besides, it’s free food and drinks on the rich guy.” he lowers his voice.

“What are you three talking about over there?” a loud voice startles them from the door, Yuto standing with crossed arms. “Whatever it is, it better be related to work.”

“I was just judging Yamada-kun’s work.” one coworker rolls away on his chair back to his own desk and the other bows, heading back to hers.

Ryosuke doesn’t say anything but focuses on his own work, surprised that his coworkers actually wanted him to join them, wondering if they saw him as how he wants them to, as a cool person. He felt like an outcast in the group, thinking that no one liked him, feeling slightly reassured after talking to them.

Maybe he will join them tomorrow... he could use a few free drinks.

After work ended, he was pleased to see that Keito had responded to his message saying he’ll meet him at the entrance when his shift ends, Keito having finished his shift earlier than him. He was rushing to pack up his stuff when a shiver ran through his spine as he felt eyes sharp on his back, turning around to find Yuto staring at him.

“I’ll be heading out now, Nakajima-san. Good work today.” he nodded in his direction and quickly gathered his belongings to leave when he heard Yuto’s footsteps coming towards him.

“How did your work go today?” Yuto asks casually.

“It’s going great, now if you’ll-”

He was cut off as Yuto held up a piece of paper, offering it to him. He squints at Yuto, annoyed at his mocking face, before taking the paper and looking at it, seeing a model that he had printed out and submitted to him earlier, but with red circles and notes written on them.

“You could have told me earlier that it wasn’t to your standards.” Ryosuke sighs, planning on redoing it later.

“At first glance I thought it looked fine, but after another look I realized it could be tweaked a bit.” Yuto explained. “Also, it wasn’t me who marked it up, it was Sakuma-kun.”

The handwriting was definitely different than Yuto’s, the strokes messier than the written feedback he normally gets.

“Were you too busy to do it yourself?” Ryosuke tried not to roll his eyes, having experienced Yuto shoving his work onto him.

“No, I just wanted to show you how tough the section is with evaluating, you know, when we compete next Monday.”

He examines the suggestions, such as using a different color to improve contrast, and he notices he could easily adjust his work to improve them.

“You realize this could help me in our competition, right?” he questions, knowing that if he gains tips on what his coworkers like he could create a better result.

“That’s what I want, a challenge.” Yuto shrugs. “It won’t be as fun if I win easily. Here.” he hands him another piece of paper showing a character model he’s never seen before. It was pleasing to look at, the small details giving it life and the color scheme matching perfectly, giving it a glossy finished look. “Now this is one I made recently, see the quality difference?”

"Nope." he lies, not wanting to admit that Yuto's model looks great.

"Liar." Yuto muttered, leaning closer to his face. "You're avoiding eye contact."

"I am not." Ryosuke directs his eyes to Yuto's to make a point, but he flinches when he realises just how close Yuto's face was to his.

He could only watch as Yuto studied his face, his neck beginning to heat up as he did the same to him, noticing the long shape of his face, the path of moles by his left eye, the crook of his nose.

How can someone so pretty have such a shitty personality?

"I'm just noticing how smooth your skin is, it’s… flawless. What's your routine?" Yuto comments, breath tickling his neck, a hand starting to reach up and touch him but falls before he does. "It was so soft the last time I touched it."

The last time he touched it. The memory flashed through his head, feeling almost similar with Yuto’s body close to his. How casually he had held his chin and how he kept wondering why his anger made his skin so hot afterwards, unable to stop thinking about how the heat he felt was different when he’s usually angry.

"It's... natural?" Ryosuke tries, his face heating up at the sudden compliment. He does spend a lot of time taking care of his skin, but he was blessed with nice skin naturally, so he’s used to people complimenting his skin, telling him it was perfect, so he typically doesn’t think too much of it.

But hearing Yuto say it made something inside him twist up, not sure what he was feeling.

"Can I touch it again?"

Ryosuke blinks, confused if Yuto was just messing with him again, surprised that he didn’t just do it without asking him, but there was seriousness in his face, eyes intently on his.

"What? No way why?"

"Just wanted to see if your cheeks are as soft and squishy as they look, you’re so cute."

He blushes, feeling embarrassed again, placing his hands on his cheeks, feeling his warm skin. With Yuto’s amused face, he must be some shade of pink or red, cursing himself. He doesn’t know if Yuto calling him cute was him looking down on him again, but all he knew was that he didn’t want Yuto to see him as a cute kid.

"They're not squishy!" He protests. “And I’m not cute.”

“I don’t think you have a right to say that about yourself.” Yuto shrugs.

"See, watch." Ryosuke reaches down, taking one of Yuto's wrist and bringing his hand to his cheek.

His body freezes at the touch, realizing what he did only after he did. He wanted to pull away his hand quickly but he was fascinated by how his face fit perfectly in Yuto's larger hand, the contact sending both a shiver and warmth through his body. He felt the same heat that he felt when Yuto last touched his face, but he wasn’t exactly angry at him this time, was he?

“Yep. Squishy.” Yuto nods, giving his cheek a small squeeze. “Like a marshmallow.”

He hated what Yuto just said, but he strangely didn’t mind Yuto rubbing his cheek as much as he thought he would, almost feeling comfort in the touch as he leaned into it.

Fuck.

“I-I have plans now so I should go.” Ryosuke chokes out, letting go of Yuto’s wrist and stepping away from him reluctantly, the cheek that Yuto was touching tingling with heat.

“What a shame, I was enjoying that.” Yuto says smoothly, letting him go. “And it looked like you were too. I’ll see you tomorrow, Yamada-kun” he heads past him out the room, a hand grazing his hair, leaving him alone and flustered.

“I was not!” he calls after him but all he could hear was Yuto’s laughter growing distant.

What _was_ that? What is he thinking?

He shakes his head a few times to clear his mind, running a hand through his hair, straightening his clothes and heading to the entrance where Keito said he would meet him, trying to refocus his mind. They walked together to a nearby restaurant, giving them some time to talk before they arrived there, part of Ryosuke’s plan to spend more time with him. Plus it gave Ryosuke some time to take in some fresh air for his face.

When they settled down at a table, Ryosuke began to explain the bet that he and Yuto made yesterday, rambling about his ideas he compiled last night. He wanted to make something cool, thinking about the color combinations of the outfits and how he was planning on putting it all together.

“You sound really excited about this.” Keito finally says after Ryosuke has exhausted himself, realizing that he’s been the one doing all the talking.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to get into all those details.” He quickly apologizes. “I’m just excited to show him what I can do.”

“It’s fine, it’s cute hearing you be so passionate about your work, you do good stuff.”

Ryosuke blushes, embarrassed at how smooth Keito was when complimenting him and calling him cute.

_‘Just wanted to see if your cheeks are as soft and squishy as they look, you’re so cute.’_

He was about to thank him when their waiter came by to take their orders, cutting him off.

Keito started to talk about his work after that, so Ryosuke just lets him talk this time, intrigued with the way Keito explains what he does, how he brings his English skills into the office. He’s not good at English himself so everything Keito does impressed him even though Keito stressed that he still wasn’t great at it and made mistakes all the time.

“You should teach me sometime.” Ryosuke suggests, willing to put in some effort.

“I don’t mind, I hold English sessions every so often, I’ll let you know when my next one is.” Keito agrees. “Sometimes Yuto stops by.”

“Nakajima-san? Is he good at it?” Ryosuke frowns, imagining him stumbling over his words.

“He works hard and is improving fast.”

“Just another thing that he’s good at, huh?” Ryosuke sighs, tired of hearing all the things Yuto is good at and he wishes he knew something that he was bad at. He just can’t seem to find any of his weaknesses no matter how hard he tries to. “What is he bad at?”

“Yuto being bad at something?” Keito sits back and thinks. “He’s pretty much perfect at just about everything I think. Ah.” Keito snaps his fingers. “He’s not great at cooking, he usually just buys food.”

Cooking? After living alone for years Ryosuke’s learned how to cook for himself and he gained a love for cooking for others, loving seeing people’s happy reactions towards the food he’s created. Whenever his friends visit his place, he always plans on making something for them.

“If it’s cooking then I’ve got him beat.” Ryosuke convinces himself that it’s a win for him even though he’s never actually seen Yuto cook before. But he’s sure that he would be better at it, imagining him being clumsy in the kitchen. “I can cook dinner for you one day, you know.” he adds, trying not to stutter.

“I might take you up on that offer one day.” Keito smiles and Ryosuke decides he likes seeing that. “Speaking of dinners, tomorrow is Thursday, right?”

“Yeah what of it?”

“Are you going to Yuto’s weekly dinner?”

Ryosuke groans out loud at the mention, having remembered being asked earlier as well by his coworkers but luckily got out of talking about it since they had to get back to work. He had already forgotten about it, but he couldn't avoid it this time with Keito.

“You know of them too? I wasn’t planning on it.” he replies, wondering if the ‘Yuto dinners’ are famous in the company.

“You should, they’re usually fun to attend, the last one I went to we ended up doing drunk karaoke afterwards.” Keito laughs.

“You’ve gone to one before? I thought it was only the section?” he might not mind going to one as much if he gets to be with Keito during it. It would be nice to have someone he’s familiar with to talk to so he isn’t so much of an outcast.

“Since Yuto and I are friends he doesn’t mind me going, though I don’t go to each one since I feel a little out of place.” Keito answers. “But you should go, since you’re part of them.”

“I don’t feel like I’m a part of them.” Ryosuke mumbles, realizing that he hasn’t voiced his concern about this out loud to anyone else yet.

“What are you talking about? You’ve been working there for almost three weeks.”

“Yeah and two of them they all ignored me like they didn’t want anything from me. I seriously thought they all hated me and thought my work was shit.”

He winces as he remembers how cold everyone was to him, not answering his questions or showing him anything, all part of Yuto’s plan to get him to do things on his own to improve himself. It was a shit plan that made him feel uneasy around everyone, so he just focused on his own work rather than talk to others, not that he likes talking to people in the first place. For two whole weeks he felt like he didn't belong and didn't know anything about the others, having only had time to talk to Yuto, only to get yelled at.

“Well, I sure hope they don’t actually think that, because I don’t hate you.” Keito says softly, and Ryosuke felt a bit better just from hearing that, glad that someone could say that to him, even if he wasn’t even part of his section.

He feels like he can trust Keito, thinking that they could work well together and he's happy to be with him as he is always so kind and comforting. The two finish the rest of their dinner as Ryosuke brings up a different topic so he doesn’t have to think about going to the dinner gathering that Yuto hosts anymore. The more he talks about it the more he becomes curious in how ‘fun’ they get.

Keito ends up walking him to the station so that they could part ways and Ryosuke’s been thinking about how to ask Keito out again on their way, though he was curious if Keito liked someone or was seeing anyone already.

“Hey Keito, I have a hypothetical.” Ryosuke begins. “Let’s say you kinda have a crush on someone at Alpha Games, who would you-”

“You do know that there’s no dating in the company, right?”

Oh. He didn’t know about that rule.

“Does that mean I can’t date people in other sections?” Ryosuke pouted, his dreams of dating Keito crushed.

“Other sections? I’m sure that’s included too, but it was mainly put in because too many people tried to date Yuto so he was one who enforced it in the first place, so ask him.” Keito explains. “I don’t know how he does it, I can’t imagine constantly having people hit on me, especially fans.”

“Yeah, can’t imagine.” Ryosuke agrees. “Think he would actually date a fan? Would that be weird?”

“There’s been a couple of rumours that Yuto has been dating someone since paparazzi are always looking for scoops.” Keito mentions. “But it’s his private life anyways.”

“Rumors, huh?” Ryosuke says absentmindedly. “Yeah, you’re right.”

They exchange a few more words, saying that they’ll text later as Ryosuke leaves. When he arrives home, he collapses on his bed, feeling like dinner went pretty well and he hopes that Keito enjoyed it too, even if they ended up talking about Yuto mostly. Any conversation he has always has to include Yuto no matter what and he’s tired of it.

He opens up his Twitter and of course the first tweet he saw was related to Yuto, sighing as he goes to mute the source. Before he could mute it, he noticed it was from a popular gossip article that focuses on Youtubers. Keito did mention that there have been rumours floating around.

Maybe he can get some blackmail using some gossip.

The article wasn’t what he wanted, a quick skim telling him it was about him gaining more subscribers, so he resorts to google, trying to find a good scandal. In the end he couldn’t find a reliable one, the pictures being too vague or blurry and no one would be able to tell that it was even him at all. It wouldn’t be surprising if fans made up rumours just to stir up drama.

But he did see an article about one of his girlfriends breaking up with him one year because of his fan’s jealousy.

As he was trying to find something he could bring up to embarrass Yuto, he gets a text from Yujikku asking him if he wanted to do something on Jump Party. Even though he felt drained before, seeing that message raised his energy, immediately replying that he would love to and rushed to his computer.

Once he gets online and greets his friends, he parties up with Yujikku to tackle some dungeons together. After doing a few, they take a break and end up chatting through the game, waiting for someone else to join their party so that they could do a harder dungeon.

_Kurusuke: Hey, Yujikku, do you know who Yutomania is?_

He can't explain why, but he felt curious if Yujikku did know Yuto from his online alias and what he thought of him, wondering if he hated him like he does.

_Yujikku: That guy that girls are always talking about on social media for some reason?_

_Kurukuke: That’s the bitch_

_Yujikku: I'd like to think I'm pretty familiar with the name... Why?_

_Kurusuke: Just wondering_

_What do you think of him?_

_Yujikku: His content is pretty alright I guess, surprised that people like a weirdo like him_

_Kurusuke: My thoughts exactly! I knew you would think the same thing_

_He’s soooo overrated_

_Yujikku: He’s not even that funny_

_Kurusuke: Girls would do anything for someone who has decent looks_

_Yujikku: You think he has decent looks? :o_

_I guess he’s alright looking, idk why people like him_

_Kurusuke: Right?? And he gets PAID for it!_

_Imagine getting paid for making stupid videos_

_Yujikku: At least he donates a lot of his money unlike some other rich people… like that video where he went around the city giving stuff to random people_

_Kurusuke: Ah yes that one_

_Sabo and Dai brought that one up recently_

_Yujikku: But he probably spends a lot of time on his stuff tho, the thinking of ideas, planning, executing them… Planning is difficult_

_His friends must be tired of him pestering them ahaha_

_Kurusuke: How do you know? You talk like you know the guy in real life hmmm_

_Yujikku: Who knows?_

He’s not surprised that Yujikku also knows who Yuto is, considering he’s popular worldwide for his content. He could do any little thing and people would shower him with money just for existing. It was ridiculous. 

_Kurusuke: What if he also started streaming video games?_

_Yujikku: I don’t think he would, he’s said in a Q &A video that he likes making them tho _

_Kurusuke: That doesn’t even make sense why would he not make extra money streaming games_

_Yujikku: Maybe he wants to keep that part of his life private_

Private life, huh? It must be difficult for him to keep his private life, well private, considering fans are scary and could dig up small details of celebrities.

_Kurusuke: Well he’s doing a pretty good job keeping it himself with all his followers around_

_Come to think of it, you keep things pretty private too don’t you_

_Yujikku: Oh look, someone wants to join our party, let’s go_

_Kurusuke: Let’s go!_

~~~

“CHEERS!”

The clang of glasses and cheers rang out.

“Why am I here?” Ryosuke mutters to himself, bringing his beer to his mouth to sip at it.

He looks around him at the 10 or so people in the large private room of some fancy restaurant he’s never thought of being in ever, his eyes landing on the guy on his right who practically dragged him here.

“Keito, tell me why am I here.”

“I figured you wouldn’t show up unless I came too so here we are.” Keito grinned at him, offering him a piece of bread, which he glared at but still took it because it was Keito.

Ryosuke had just finished work and was about to leave to go home, when he heard his name being called out, Keito jogging to catch up to him. He was happy to see Keito, not expecting to be able to talk today. They ended up chatting together until the time of the dinner.

Then he ended up following Keito here.

"Glad to have you on the team, Yamada-kun!" an arm drapes around his shoulder from his other side, almost spilling his beer as electricity flows through his whole body.

If on the right side had an angel, his left side had a devil.

"Careful." Ryosuke shrugs off Yuto's arm, trying not to spill his drink. "You're not drinking too?" he notices Yuto's glass filled with oolong tea instead of alcohol.

“I’m the host and I drive, I need to be somewhat responsible.” Yuto replies firmly. “I have to make sure my cute workers don’t get into trouble.” he winks at him.

“What, do you have that low of a tolerance?” Ryosuke teased, ignoring his wink, waving his glass of beer in his face. “I bet I can drink more than you.”

Yuto rolls his eyes, but takes the glass from him, taking a sip with a smirk as Ryosuke protests that it was his and he already drank from it.

“I guess I can have a drink or two... for you.” Yuto laughed, taking the drink with him as he got up to go talk to other people.

He’s the worst.

“You got something on your face, oh wait it’s just your face.” Ryosuke glares at Yuto, having a staring contest with him. Yuto wiggles his nose a little, making a face and Ryosuke bursts out laughing, causing him to look away. “You look so stupid.”

It was an hour or two into the dinner but Ryosuke has lost track of time, having drunk more than he planned. It’s been a stressful time so he figured he could treat himself to relax, especially since it was free.

“And I win again, Yamada-kun.” Yuto says triumphantly, having also drunk a bit but less than him, having decided to call a taxi for himself later instead of driving.

“No fair, I want a re-match.”

“You’re just going to lose again.”

“Nuh-uh.”

They end up having another staring contest anyways, Ryosuke not letting it go, saying that he was going to take it seriously this time. The others lost interest in them after watching them do this multiple times, talking amongst themselves instead of focusing on them. Ryosuke never noticed anyways, his full attention placed on Yuto’s eyes, determined to win this time.

“Your eyes look pretty.” Yuto mumbled just loud enough that he heard it, but he wasn’t sure if he heard it right with the chatter surrounding them.

“Thanks?” he doesn’t know what else to say. He was going to say the default of ‘yours too’ when Yuto blinked. “Ah you blinked! I won this time, Nakajima-san.” Ryosuke cheers, having already forgotten the recent compliment.

“Ah, so that’s how you are when you win. You’re so cute, Yamada-kun.” Yuto smiles.

“Shut up, Nakajima-san.” Ryosuke mumbles back. “I’m not cute.”

"You are cute and your cheeks are squishy." Yuto reaches over and pinches a cheek and Ryosuke weakly swats him away.

“Not now.”

“So later?”

“...Maybe.”

_Why are we being so friendly?_

“I think I should head back to mine.” Ryosuke announces, feeling like he’s drunk enough for the night and is feeling too tired from being around people. It's been awhile since he's gone out to an outing like this, almost feeling like a party and it exhausted him.

“Okay that’s fine, I can call a taxi for you, do you need help?” Yuto murmured, taking his phone out.

“It’s fine, I’m fine.” Ryosuke stopped him, waving him off. “I’m not _that_ drunk.”

“Are you sure about that?” Yuto frowns, watching him stand up, stumbling a little.

“Okay I’m a _little_ drunk.” he says defeatedly. “But I still don’t need your help.”

“I can do it for him.” Keito pipes up.

Ryosuke nods at Keito, forgetting that he came here with him, letting him guide him out. He doesn’t mind it when Keito helps him, but he wouldn’t dare let Yuto help him. As they waited for a taxi to pick up Ryosuke, the two exchanged a few drunken words about the dinner.

“Did you have fun, Yamada?”

“Yep. Lots.”

“What did you like?”

“Uh. I talked a lot with you… got some free booze… oh and I talked a lot to what's-his-face… Nakajima-san.”

“You sure did, I’m glad you guys look like you got closer.”

“We’re not friends.”

“You two were pretty much attached to each other.”

“We were not, that never happened.”

“Got it.”

When he does make it back to his apartment he collapses on his bed right away feeling too sleepy to do anything else. He thinks back to the dinner, having a better time than he expected, but he also remembers that he was planning on quitting the company.

If he does pull off a win in this competition between him and Yuto, he’s only required to work one more week there, then he would be allowed to leave since one month was all he promised the old man. Then he could just work at the convenience store as he always did and play video games all day. Better than working at a gaming company that he was starting to enj-

Ryosuke shakes his head, reminding himself that he wouldn't have to see Yuto anymore on a regular basis after he quits.

Yeah, that's a good thing.


	7. Chapter 7

Late Sunday night, Ryosuke's only free day off work and he spent it all doing work on his computer, anxious for tomorrow where his skills will be put to the test directly against Yuto. It will be an anonymous vote after showing their coworkers both of their pieces without their names, finding out the winner right away. He felt confident that he could be on at least the same level as Yuto, maybe making it a close match, though he hopes he wins so that he doesn’t have to ever deal with Yuto again after this week.

When he had awoken Friday morning, he was a bit hungover from drinking too much during dinner, but still dragged himself to work at the convenience store so he doesn’t look like he’s slacking again. It would be a pain to have Yuto become even more evil to teach him another lesson.

Bits and pieces of the previous night slowly flash through his mind, grimacing at how comfortable he was around Yuto while drunk. Was there a point where he laid his head on his shoulder? He hopes he didn’t remember that right. He always becomes too friendly when he drinks, liking attention and wanting to be spoiled by others for a change like how he is online. He can’t believe that he let the guy touch his cheeks again, poking them himself to see if they really are as squishy as Yuto says.

… Maybe they might be.

But it’s better than lashing out at his boss, risking ruining future career options if Yuto were to press charges against him.

Frustrated with the way the hand on his model looked, he decided to take a break and open up Jump Party to get his mind off of work for a while and relax. He has plans to do some dungeons with the Chibis soon anyways. Once he logged on, he noticed that his two friends weren’t even online yet, checking his discord messages to see that both of them had unexpected events and would be busy tonight, cancelling their plans.

No one else was currently on that he wanted to play with, so he just decided to mindlessly hunt alone while he daydreams. He was just envisioning himself being the champion in the next player tournament in the game soon when he got a notification that a friend logged on.

_ Yujikku has logged on. _

Finally, someone he wanted to play with is online.

_ Kurusuke: Yujikkuu~~ _

_ Yujikku: Kurusukeeee~ _

_ Kurusuke: Do you want to do something together? _

_ Yujikku: I’m supposed to do dungeons with my guild soon sorry, maybe later? _

_ Kurusuke: Okay it’s fine I guess :( _

Ryosuke felt disappointed since he hasn’t been able to play with Yujikku for days, just continuing to mindlessly hunt when Yujikku messaged him again shortly after.

_ Yujikku: So I didn’t notice that our plans are cancelled tonight so I guess we can do something together now lol _

_ Kurusuke: The same thing happened to me what a coincidence lol _

They get together and decide that they both weren't in the mood to do actual dungeons, resorting to doing side quests to rake up some extra silver to buy accessories. He’s been busy lately with work so he hasn’t been logging on for long and Yujikku has been the same way, having some changes in his real life work as well. Tonight seemed to be one of those free nights they had in common, their work schedules still matching up.

_ Yujikku: Sorry I haven’t been online lately... A lot has been happening at work :c _

_ Kurusuke: No worries I’ve been busy too _

_ Work has been really weird for me man _

_ Yujikku: I haven’t been able to hear you complain about work all week _

_ Is your boss still being an asshole? D: _

He realizes he hasn’t had the chance to tell Yujikku about how his work situation has changed yet, the two of them being too busy to talk. He thinks back on the week, Yuto’s challenge to him and how he looked down on him. But also he did notice being scolded less and having more time to finish his work rather than rushed. Plus he enjoyed doing his work this week.

It doesn't change the fact that Yuto annoys the hell out of him by existing.

_ Kurusuke: He’s just as annoying as ever _

_ But other than having to deal with him, work has been okay maybe even good _

_ It’s like the first two weeks of hell didn’t even happen _

He doesn’t know how he feels about working at Alpha Games anymore after this week, having been able to work on making models on the computer everyday and he was feeling more confident talking to his coworkers, though he still prefers to work alone. He even managed to correctly recode his previously made apps to work properly now, applying his new knowledge that he’s gained over the last few weeks. Yuto had texted him about it and gave him a few extra hints that made it much easier, though he wishes that he would have been able to solve his own problems without anyone's help.

_ Yujikku: That’s a good thing, right? _

_ Kurusuke: I guess _

_ I was given so much more freedom than I ever got than in the first couple weeks of working isn’t that so weird? _

_ Yujikku: Like things just… changed just like that? _

_ Kurusuke: Yeah my boss was actually being helpful for once in his life it was creepy _

_ Yujikku: Your boss seems really weird _

_ Kurusuke: Right?? _

_ But enough of him I’m here to not think of work I still need to finish for tomorrow lol _

_ I can hear his voice nagging me to do things _

_ Yujikku: LOL _

_ Hey Kurusuke you should stream Jump Party _

The words catch him off guard, having considered streaming on Twitch before but he wasn’t confident enough to, thinking that no one would watch his streams and he would be too awkward.

_ Kurusuke: What?? Me? _

_ Yujikku: Wouldn’t it be fun?! _

_ Kurusuke: No _

_ No way _

_ Who would watch someone like me? _

_ Yujikku: Me _

_ I will _

_ The Chibis will _

_ Kurusuke: You all don’t count _

_ IF I ever do I’ll let you know _

_ Yujikku: You better _

_ I bet your voice is cute even tho I never heard it before _

_ Kurusuke: Guess you’ll never know bc I won’t have my mic on _

_ Yujikku: I want to hear your voice tho :c _

_ Kurusuke: Too bad _

_ I don’t I’ve heard yours either so _

_ Yujikku: You don’t watch my guild’s streams or videos?!?! _

_ Kurusuke: I’ve watched a few but never one with you in it! _

_ I think _

_ Do you TALK in them?? _

_ Yujikku: Yes?? _

_ I need to?? _

_ Kurusuke: Hold on let me pull up a video _

Ryosuke opens up Youtube, searching for ‘Jump Party Kemono boss’ to try to find a video with Yujikku in it, having not watched many, but he’s surprised he hasn’t watched a stream with Yujikku participating.

It took him a couple of videos before he finally found one with Yujikku in the party. It was a four man dungeon with Yabunbun, Piitan, Yuyaseba. He’s heard those three’s voices before but he hasn’t heard Yujikku’s yet, skipping part way in the video to try getting him to talk, curious in what he sounds like, picturing an excited young guy talking.

“The tornado is coming in 10 seconds, get to the bottom now.” Yabunbun’s voice called out to the rest of the team, leading them to safety. 

“Ah! So close to getting hit, do you have a healing skill ready, Piitan?” Yuyaseba’s character had just avoided the attack but had gotten hit by some of the minions on the way down, his health falling low.

“You always get so greedy using your attack skills that you almost die everytime.” Now Piitan spoke, chuckling a little as he used a skill to regenerate the party’s health.

“Hey at least I don’t die!” Yuyaseba fights back.

Ryosuke can’t help but chuckle a little with them too, enjoying that they were always a little playful with each other during serious matches.

“Can you say that again for all the times that you did die?” another voice was laughing, a beautiful sound that brought him a familiar comfort.

Ryosuke frowns, it must be Yujikku’s voice he was hearing since it was the only one he couldn’t pin down, but he knows he heard that voice before. It sounded so similar to a certain person he knows in real life, but it was so different at the same time, too much deeper than who he was thinking of, but the thought couldn’t leave his head. Even though it sounded familiar, he found himself oddly attracted to it, wanting to hear more of it. It did erase what he expected with his voice, picturing some more mature and cool, going against his happy go lucky personality. All it did was make him even more curious about Yujikku.

He’s been spending too much time with work lately.

He just shrugs though, he must have stumbled on a stream or video with him in it and heard his voice already, explaining why it was so familiar, but didn’t realize it was him. But there was also still a nagging thought. He clicks back to Jump Party to continue talking to Yujikku.

_ Kurusuke: Wtf you kinda sound like Yutomania in a way? _

_ Yujikku: I get that a lot, but our voices are clearly different?? _

_ Kurusuke: You’re right but there’s something about it?? _

_ Idk maybe it’s just I was already thinking about him _

_ Since I saw a clip earlier _

_ Wait _

_ Get him out I don’t want to think about him _

_ Yujikku: Ahahaha _

_ Anyways I'm glad work is going better for you _

_ Kurusuke: Yeah I got to work with what I wanted to in the first place all week so it was great _

_ Yujikku: You said you work with something with games right? _

_ I just remember since I also work with games lol _

_ Kurusuke: Yeah _

_ What kind of games do you work with exactly? _

_ Yujikku: That’s a secret~ _

_ Tell me what you do first _

_ Kurusuke: I asked first, so I guess I’m not telling you what I work in :P _

_ Yujikku: :O _

_ That’s not fair _

_ Kurusuke: Tell me all your secrets _

_ Yujikku: No _

Even though Ryosuke still doesn't know too much about Yujikku’s real life, he still enjoys playing with him and would do anything to keep him as his friend. He just has a lovable personality but also a mysterious aura, and he wonders if his fun personality has some kind of dark background and that’s why he doesn’t talk about it much, remembering how he wishes Kemono never got famous in game.

Guess he’ll have to wait until Yujikku opens up about it.

~~~

It was the end of the work week and that meant one thing.

Freedom.

It was a Thursday afternoon and he had plans with his friends tonight, having been looking forward to it all week. There was a fleeting thought that made him feel bad about missing tonight’s section dinner even though he said he would go, but he had forgotten that he already had booked tonight before he had agreed. It’s whatever.

Ryosuke packs up his bag as quickly as he can to leave, only getting two steps out of the building when he is pulled to the side, two taller fierce looking girls glaring at him.

Fuck. Yuto fangirls. Damn his short height. He’s seen them before outside of the office, their auras more threatening than all of the other girls. They must be some kind of pack leaders. This isn’t the first time fangirls have approached him after work asking him dumb questions about Yuto and he always feels them glaring at his every move every time Yuto stops to talk to him or is around him. 

“You’re Yamada-kun, right?” one of them, the blonde one spits out.

How did they find out his name?

“Uh hi, I’m kinda busy-” he started but he was instantly interrupted.

“We need to talk. Now.” the other one, brunette, says, dragging him with them off to an empty park.

He probably could have easily broken away and ran away, but he didn’t want them to chase after him screaming so he figured it would be best to just follow them for a bit. But he was tense and ready to bolt if things got messy. He wasn’t afraid to defend himself.

“Look, if this is about Nakajima-san, I didn’t do anything to him. So just let me go, okay?” he growls out.

“We  _ know  _ that, idiot.” the girls respond simultaneously. “If you did we would have done something already.”

Geez. What would they have done to him? He shivers at the thought, reminding himself again not to punch the guy.

They reach an isolated spot, the girls looking around to see no one nearby, making him wary, waiting for one of them to speak first.

“We want you to get us info.” the brunette girl says evenly.

What.

“Info?” Ryosuke responds blankly. “What kind of info?”

“Anything you could! You have the lucky opportunity to be around him and be close to him! You could do anything!” one of them yells out, punching the wall next to him, making him flinch but glad it wasn't his face.

Ryosuke had to take a moment to take in what they were saying. It’s not like he wants to be around him, it’s purely for work purposes. What do they think that they’re doing?

And they just want to use him for gathering information?

"Lucky? More like unlucky because I have to deal with both the asshole himself  _ and  _ people like you." he responds calmly, internally laughing at the way the girls’ mouths opened and closed like goldfish.

"I. Cannot. Believe. This." the blonde girl seethes. "I can't believe Yutti's talent is wasted on a fucking nobody like you."

At this point, he doesn't care what these girls say to him, but he knew it was pointless to fight them, getting impatient and just wanting to leave.

"You guys are jealous that I have to work with him? I'd give anything to not be around him." he rolls his eyes. 

“It’s obvious that he likes you for some reason and I just can’t see it when you’re so ugly.” the other one says with disgust.

Him? Ugly?

“Whatever, I’m not some information agent for you and your stupid club. Fuck off.” he shrugs off the girl trying to pin him down, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walks away.

“Y-you’ll regret it!”

Ryosuke just rolls his eyes again. As if he’s scared. Freaking fangirls and their creepiness. He has met plenty of normal and kind fangirls, but it was always the obsessive ones like those two girls that made him angry and almost feel bad for people like Yuto.

Almost.

“This is why I hate popular people.” he mutters under his breath, kicking at a small rock on the ground.

“You do? Why is that?”

Ryosuke looks up, startled, as he nearly walks into a taller figure, wide innocent eyes looking back at him.

“You!” Ryosuke gasps out realizing it’s Yuto, stumbling back a little, losing his balance and almost falling, but a pair of hands react quickly to catch his arms, pulling him upright again.

There was a moment of silence between the two boys, as Yuto’s hands linger on his arms for a few seconds before sliding off.

“Are you okay? What did Sakura and Aoi want from you?” Yuto inquires, glancing up and lowering his voice.

So he knows the girls?

“The two girls that seem close to you that dragged me away and tried trapping me to ask me to get information about you?” Ryosuke spits outs, brushing his arms where Yuto had touched. “Also don’t touch me.”

Yuto’s eyebrows furrow slightly as he frowns.

“Why would they do that? I’m not that close with them. And what, you wanted me to just let you fall over?” Yuto clearly wasn’t too happy with how he reacted, but he didn’t even care, feeling too upset to think properly.

He’ll just have to take whatever punishment that will come later.

“Because obviously they’re obsessed over you and think they can use me just to get closer to you. And yes next time just let me fall!” he shouts, angry at the girls and at Yuto. He doesn’t even want to be around him right now where fans can catch them, all he knows is the more time he spends with him, the more hell he’s going to have to face from others and he would rather live his quiet life. “If you weren’t here then none of this would have even happened.” he continues.

“I’ll talk to them the next time I see them. I’ll make sure that they leave you alone.” Yuto says sternly. He opens his mouth to say more but Ryosuke shakes his head, sighing as he promptly turns around.

“Do whatever the hell you want.” he calls over his shoulder, taking out his phone to check the time.

He was already going to be late to where he was supposed to be and didn't have the time or energy to deal with Yuto or anyone else he didn’t want to see, starting to speed walk to the station to get to his destination.

~~~

Once he makes it to the mall he looks around the food court area trying to find who he was searching for, relieved when he caught two boys engrossed on their Nintendo switches, sitting at their usual table.

“Hey guys!” he calls out as cheerily as he could, two heads facing his way with big grins.

“Yama! For once you’re late!” Daiki waves at him, glancing back at his switch and gasping. “Wait Chinen that’s not fair!”

“Hah, you let your guard down.” Chinen grins, showing off his victory. “Also hi Ryosuke! You look like a hot mess, did something happen before you got here? It’s not like you to be late.” he asks with concern.

It was that time of the month where the three online friends try to meet in person, going for at least once a month when they aren't busy with their personal lives. Their usual meeting place was in a mall that just conveniently happened to be right in the middle of where they all live, making it an easy trip from the station for them.

Ryosuke sighed in response, shrugging off his jacket, saying he’ll tell them once he grabs something to eat. Once he returns with a soda and chicken nuggets, the two others put their game systems away to focus their attention on him.

“Well, you know how I was supposed to come here right after work, right? But guess who decided to be in the way? Nakajima-san’s fucking fanclub.” fumed Ryosuke.

“Again? What did they want from you this time?” Chinen stretches his arm towards him, Ryosuke pushing his chicken nugget plate closer to him so he doesn’t have to reach as far.

“They were trying to be all powerful and were ordering me to get information about Nakajima-san.” he scoffs, shoving a nugget in his mouth. “And to make things worse, I ran into the asshole himself right after, which is probably why I’m so ticked off right now.”

Every time he saw Yuto, there was a burning rage inside of him, wanting to smack him unconscious, taking every fiber in him to hold himself back.

“You know, it’s been a month already, you would think they would back away from you by now.” Daiki frowns. "Aren't you planning to quit anyways soon? You fulfilled your promise with Jun-san, right?"

“I did work there for a month like I promised except...” Ryosuke confirms, recalling the event on the past Monday.

Monday

Ryosuke’s eyes focused on his coworker taking out the last slip of paper from the box where everyone had placed their votes. He’s on the edge of his seat, praying that it would be for his own design instead of Yuto’s, hoping this last vote would be for him. Slowly, the small piece of paper was unfolded and raised up, showing him the vote.

“Number 1.” the last result was finally called out.

“Looks like the people have spoken, Yamada-kun.” Yuto looks at him with a smug grin. “I win this time.”

Now

“I fucking wish I could quit.” Ryosuke chews angrily. “He convinced me to play this game to see who can make something better.”

“You lost didn’t you?”

“By a landslide.” he sinks down in his seat, shocked when Yuto won unanimously, annoyed at the face that Yuto had made after the votes were confirmed. “And now I’m staying there.”

“Why?”

“That was the condition if I lost.”

“I’m surprised you even agreed to that.” Daiki takes a sip from his own soda. “I’m sure you can’t be forced to work there though, right?”

“Well, yeah. He did say it was a joke afterwards and that I could still quit, but I can’t go back on my word can I?” Ryosuke muttered.

It was true that he could still quit the company if he wished, Yuto giving him the okay, but Ryosuke is too stubborn, hating how Yuto mocks him and all he wants is to see his face in despair instead. He refuses to just leave with a loss like that and he would rather leave on a good note.

“Isn’t working there a good thing though? Isn’t it your dream to work at a gaming company?”

This week he had begun working on looking at game proposals, something that he dreamed of doing, seeing what kind of ideas other people have before they’re made into actual games. He’s always wondering which one will get made and released, hoping that one day he’ll be able to be one of those lucky people to see his idea come to life.

“Probably… but I was so confident that I would win.”

“Well, if we try to see the good things, now’s your chance to become friends with the hottest guy in town.” Chinen tries to lighten the mood, only earning a glare from Ryosuke.

“I don’t  _ want  _ to be friends with Mr. Popular. See what happened to me earlier with the fangirls? I wish they weren’t around.” he absentmindedly takes a sip of his soda.

Dealing with Yuto himself is already a pain in the ass, so having to deal with fangirls on top of that on a daily basis is making it even more of an annoyance, wishing they would just leave him and the office alone.

“So, let’s say the fangirls leave you alone, how do you feel around Yuto?” Daiki presses. “There has to be something positive.”

Ryosuke frowns, never having considered that idea since it would be impossible to avoid fan drama. But if they were to all disappear, if Yuto wasn’t as popular as he is now...

How  _ does  _ he feel around him?

He racks his brain, trying to think of something positive about Yuto, realizing he doesn’t know much about him as a person.

“I guess it was nice of him to help me on my apps?” he finally answers, figuring that was the only good thing that has come out of this whole mess.

“Yama, I know you’re competitive but I’ve never seen you this heated over someone and for so long, you usually just get over it when someone frustrates you.”

“Didn't you say you were enjoying work lately?" Chinen adds as he nods at Daiki.

“There’s plenty of reasons! Besides, it’s different when it’s in a game.” Ryosuke defends himself. “It’s easy to get frustrated at a guy you have to talk to multiple times a week.”

“I want to meet this guy in real life to see if he is as bad as you say.” Chinen hums, taking Ryosuke’s last nugget.

“Maybe I should- wait no Chi you’ll definitely do something weird to him.”

Imagining Chinen and Yuto's encounter would be a funny sight at first, considering their height difference, but if left alone the small devil could probably convince him to do anything he wanted him to or just end up in Yuto's bed. He makes a face at the thought of the two of them sleeping together, knowing Chinen has been craving to use his candles on someone lately.

“What are you talking about? I’m just looking out for my dear friend, Ryosuke.” Chinen places a hand over his chest in fake shock. “Then maybe I could lock him up and-”

“ANYWAYS. I was thinking of this new strategy we could use on the royal dragon boss in Jump Party.” he desperately tries to change the subject so that he doesn't have to think about Yuto, who has been in his head more often than he would like.

_ ‘It’s obvious that he likes you for some reason’ _

There’s no way Yuto likes him as the fangirls mentioned. After all, he despises him. It always feels like he’s the only person on Earth that doesn’t like Yuto, everyone else just lets him be free and do whatever he wants. Now that he agreed to be more cooperative, he has to both see and talk to him more often, which is going to drive him crazy because he hates him so much. His face, his voice, everything about him pisses him off.

Ryosuke keeps muttering that to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you always for those who have sent kind messages on here or twitter, very appreciative and it motivates me 💕


	8. Chapter 8

It takes another week for Ryosuke to convince himself to ask Keito out for dinner again, ecstatic that the older man agreed. He dressed nicely but not over the top, spending a reasonable amount of time on his hair and makeup to look good. As he examined himself in the mirror he considered if he should properly ask Keito for a date, despite the rules of no dating in the company. He was willing to break those rules if it meant he would be able to love someone.

Ryosuke was the first one to arrive at the restaurant Keito suggested, anxiously waiting for his friend. When Keito did arrive, Ryosuke noticed he was in casual clothing, looking cute as always.

They head into the restaurant, taking their seats and catching up, talking about their days and latest interests as they order their food. Unsurprisingly, the conversation switches to work, Ryosuke telling Keito about how Yuto made him draw sketches using someone else's descriptions this week.

The week was busy for everyone, an influx of work coming in as deadlines came close. Everyone was thankful that Ryosuke had stayed with them, dividing up the work. Because of this, Ryosuke had to work with multiple tasks he doesn’t have much experience in, but he was happy to do so.

"Then he told me that my demon wasn't evil looking enough." Ryosuke complained. "It had horns and fire around him, I don’t know what else I should have added. I should have drawn Nakajima-san instead."

"If you had done that who knows what he would have done to you." Keito chuckles, taking bites from his food as he listens to Ryosuke.

Ryosuke was continuing to complain about all the things that Yuto said to him when Keito spoke up. 

"Yamada, I have a question." Keito furrows his brows, Ryosuke nodding to let him continue. "Do you really hate Yuto?"

"He's the worst guy I've ever met in my life." Ryosuke replies without missing a beat.

"You always talk about him but I feel like you always talk about Yuto in a rotten way…" Keito says. "I just don't know why."

"Oh. I-sorry." Ryosuke stutters, forgetting that Keito was close friends with Yuto. He wouldn’t like it if someone was always talking shit about one of his friends, but never realized that he was doing it to Keito who is too nice to stop him. "It's kinda a habit."

He's used to it with his friends, but he forgot that he hasn’t known Keito for as long as them, unable to joke around and tease him as he likes yet, wanting to make a good impression. It made him suddenly feel more vulnerable in front of his coworker. He keeps forgetting that him and Yuto are close considering how different they are.

“How is someone like you friends with Nakajima-san?” Ryosuke found himself asking, genuinely wondering.

Keito blinked at him, tilting his head to the side.

“What do you mean?”

“Like you’re so… gentle and angelic.” Ryosuke hopes he’s not blushing. “And then Yuto is so… extroverted and brash.”

He would gladly kill Yuto if he were to yell at Keito like he has to him or hurt him in any way.

“Honestly, when I first met him a few years ago, I was intimidated by him too.” Keito starts. “Yuto looks tough and can be strict sometimes, but you’ll find that he’s actually quite sweet and introverted when you take the time to talk to him."

“You met him a few years ago?” Ryosuke asks, surprised, having thought that they had met at Alpha Games, which Yuto had joined not long before Ryosuke had joined the company. It explained why they seemed to be close friends when they interact, as if they were used to each other.

“I had a music gig with my buddies in another city and met his group at a bar we were both performing in.” Keito clarified. “I was interested in him and he was interested in me so after we exchanged numbers to jam together while I was there for a week.”

That’s right, Yuto plays the drums and Keito plays the guitar, of course they would get along well. He has knowledge playing the saxophone, wondering if Keito would play with him one day. 

“You had to leave though, right? Did you guys keep in touch?” he asks.

“Yes to both questions.” Keito replies. “When my buddies ended our mini gig a couple weeks later, I jokingly told Yuto to move here where we are now. Didn’t think he would actually do it.”

So it was Keito who brought Yuto to this small, nameless town. It had never made sense to Ryosuke why a social influencer would have moved to this quiet place, knowing that he could afford and thrive in populated places for advertisement.

“Why would he go so far to move?”

Keito shifted a little in a seat, glancing around him quickly and lowering his voice before answering.

“Well… like I said, we were interested in each other and the night we met, we drank a bit at the bar and… might have ended up at his place.” Keito confessed. “So after texting for awhile we thought maybe we kinda wanted to see if we could be more than friends.”

Ryosuke’s jaw dropped open at the new information Keito announced to him, taking a moment to absorb it.

“Wait you and Nakajima-san… dated?!”

“Shh, not too loud… but yes for a bit when he actually moved here.” Keito answers sheepishly. “But we found out we both would rather be friends, no hard feelings, and I’m glad to this day we’re still friends. We’re just not fit as a romantic couple, you know? I thought it might have been love at first sight, but it turned out I just wanted to play music with him since he was cute.”

Ryosuke was still shocked that the two dated at some point, feeling slightly crushed knowing that someone he liked would consider someone like Yuto even if it was a few years ago. He might even feel a bit jealous of Yuto. But another piece of information stuck out, shocking him more than he would have thought it would.

Nakajima Yuto dated a man.

He wants to tell the Chibis, wondering if they ever figured out that Yuto likes guys, but it feels wrong that Keito was telling him information that he’s not sure is available to the public with how he wanted him to be quiet and the time he tried finding out but couldn't. Even though he doesn't like Yuto, he doesn’t want to go around spreading private information like that, especially for Keito’s sake.

“I mean, have you seen his drum skills on YouTube? How is that not hot?” Keito continues. “God, and man is he good in bed.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah...” ignoring the bed part, he remembers thinking the same thing about his drumming, making a playlist of his drum covers when he used to be a fan, loving how he puts his own twist on songs to make them pop out. Some covers were even better than the original song, even if they were just instrumentals.

“Isn’t he amazing? I love watching him play the drums, it makes me want to pick up my guitar and play along every time or sing or dance. The way he gets absorbed into the music and you can feel that he’s having a great time as he smiles like the sun after a rainy day.”

“Mhm.” he used to think Yuto was amazing and loved his playing style for that reason, believing that the best kind of job is something that you enjoy working with. Like how he enjoys working with games so much.

“That’s what’s so great about him, he gets so passionate about what he likes.” Keito continues. “Once he finds something he’s not good at or enjoys, he works his damn hardest to be good at it until he gets what he wants and even then it's not enough for him. I’m always trying to- Ah, sorry I’m rambling aren’t I?” he stops himself, apologizing.

“No, it’s fine, I do the same thing.” Ryosuke insists, wanting to hear Keito talk more just so that he can talk and listen to him even though he doesn't care about hearing about Yuto.

There was something about the way that Keito talked about Yuto with stars in his eyes that made him so happy, yet made his heart ache. How compliment after compliment left his mouth. It was like Keito still admired Yuto and it made him feel bad for all the times he badmouthed him.

How did he go from being like Keito and loving everything about Yuto's content to hating every single little thing he does?

“Yeah you kinda give off a similar vibe as Yuto when you get passionate.” Keito theorized. “I can see a lot of similarities between you two.”

“What? Nakajima-san and I are similar? How so?”

Does that mean Keito might…?

“You both get lost in what you love, never giving up and putting in 110% to get something done perfectly, and most noticeably extremely competitive, even more so with each other.”

Ryosuke frowns, thinking that everyone should have those traits when working with something they enjoy. The Chibis had also mentioned before that he was more heated with this competition than usual, interested in the fact that Yuto was extra competitive with him as well.

“Why is he so competitive with me?” Ryosuke asks, wondering if he could get an answer from Yuto’s side since he doesn’t know why he himself gets so heated with Yuto.

Keito hesitates, adjusting his collar.

“I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you, but he told me that he feels something special from you which made him interested in you.” Keito explains.

That sounds gross but Ryosuke had to keep himself from making a face. But Yuto has told him that he was interested in his work before, telling him that he has potential. He’s not sure if that’s what makes someone special.

“Me? Special? I’m sure he just likes watching me struggle since he doesn’t have to.”

"I know he lets things get to his head sometimes, but he’s worked so hard to get where he is now and lately he's been stressing himself lately to work double as hard with everything going on. He’s been beating himself up.”

Ryosuke can’t imagine Yuto having to work hard at something, being so naturally good at everything and having everything handed to him on a silver platter. It’s just an expectation that whatever Yuto does will be perfect material.

“This is just my own feeling, but I think Yuto has been looking for someone like you, someone that could tell him something.” Keito continues.

“What does that even mean, what am I supposed to tell him?”

“Honestly, I don’t know, but I’m rooting for you Yamada.”

“Thanks, Keito.”

In the end, they change the subject from work, talking about a new album that got released recently to lighten up the mood. While Ryosuke had planned to ask Keito for a proper date at the end, it didn’t feel like the right time after Keito just admitted he once had feelings for Yuto, maybe even still does, his heart heavy.

But the whole conversation about his boss made his head fill with thoughts and questions. It made him realize most of his hatred for Yuto came from before he even met him in person, never giving him a true chance, only interacting with him when he was forced to and because he made a deal with Jun. There haven't been many opportunities to talk to Yuto this week since he’s been so busy, hardly even seeing him. He had even canceled the latest weekly section dinner due to personal reasons.

Was it because of stress?

...Is he actually worrying about Yuto or is he just worrying about him because of Keito?

When Ryosuke got home that night, he laid across his bed, having time before his plans to play with the Chibis, trying to organize his thoughts from the dinner.

Opening up Twitter to distract himself, he was met with a tweet talking about Yutomania’s new drum cover for Ai no Katamari by Kinki Kids, one of his favorite songs. It was surprising that Yuto would do such a good song, considering if he wanted to listen to it. He couldn’t stop thinking about how Keito admired and described his drum skills, and how much he himself used to watch them all the time, so he clicked on the link leading him to the video, wondering if he had improved.

As usual, there were no extra words spoken in the video, jumping into the song right away, making it easy to listen to multiple covers in a playlist since it’s all music and no interrupting introduction or ending. If Yuto wanted to say anything to fans he always placed text boxes in the video so he doesn't interrupt the audio.

It was beautiful the way it started, the beginning always making him feel emotional. He couldn’t keep his eyes off the center of the video, where Yuto sat with his personal shiny, professional drum set which must have cost him thousands of dollars, spinning a drumstick between his fingers and he nodded along to the introduction.

Then he started to hit the drums.

Ryosuke is completely mesmerized, the song still sounding like the original, but much more intense and complex with the added drums, vibrating through his body. There were no lyrics, being completely instrumental, but he couldn’t even think about singing along, focused on the beat of the song, feeling it in his chest and soul, feeling alive. Yuto has definitely improved since the last time he watched a cover, making it look so smooth and easy, getting the rhythm down perfectly.

It reminded him of the nights when he was still in school, stressed and wanting to collapse, but he would put on some of these songs then get distracted by them, ending up not studying at all and dancing instead. There was that spark in Yuto's eyes as he played that he loved, but there was something about it that felt off to Ryosuke compared to his younger self.

The song ended before he even realized, noticing a text box at the bottom thanking viewers, telling them to comment and he’ll reply to some when he can. The video was posted a few hours ago, but he didn't see any comments from him, expecting them to have been the ones with the most likes, but he saw tons of positive messages in several different languages, some making him smile with how much they loved his videos worldwide, connecting fans together.

He debates leaving a comment or not for 10 minutes, but in the end he leaves his pride behind, writing a small note, knowing it'll just get swallowed up in the spam anyway.

~~~

5 hour energy? Check.

Sugar and snacks? Check.

Water? Check.

It was almost time for his guild’s weekly raid, expecting it to take a few hours to complete as usual and he needs all the energy he can muster, despite typically having more than enough energy naturally. But it’s been an extra stressful week after having to deal with work and fans, with people starting to submit work to meet deadlines, him included, meaning pulling all nighters. There’s barely been enough time to enjoy himself, having been lost in his own thoughts as well revolving around a certain someone.

He had only just finished editing a new drum cover in time and uploaded it onto YouTube, hoping that there aren’t any problems with it and people like it. Even though he rewatched the final video over 10 times before uploading it, he still didn’t think it was the best he could do, but there wasn’t enough time to record a new one or he would be late, not wanting to keep his fans waiting.

Speaking of making people wait...

“Ah, ah. Testing. Testing. Is this working? Hello?”

“Did you guys hear something?”

“No.”

“Nope.”

“So that’s a yes, great. Is everyone else ready? Are we ready to start?” Yuto bubbles, his leg vibrating under his desk, itching to start playing Jump Party with his friends, games being his mental escape from his two jobs. 

“I’m ready, but did you change the settings on your microphone?” Yuya questions him. “You sound different, more like… you, know.”

“Ugh, I let my little brother use my computer earlier and he must have fiddled with my settings. I’ll bother him later.” Yuto mumbles, opening up his voice changer program and moving the slider down, causing his mic to change his voice to be deeper than it is in real life. “How does that sound? Do I sound like Yujikku again?”

“Yeah, there he is.” Hikaru affirms. “I’m all set on my end.”

“Are you sure you don’t need to check on your YouTube channel?” Yabu asks, making sure things are all right before he can start as the party leader.

“I just uploaded the video, I’ll do my responding to comments after this. Don't worry.” Yuto replied. “I don’t want to delay this anymore.”

“So I can start the stream now, right?” Yabu asks for confirmation, getting a chorus of ‘yes’. “Then we'll be live in 3...2...1…”

As expected, they end up finishing a few hours later, the last boss completely draining them. They all talk to the stream chat afterwards, answering questions and giving advice, typical of them after an intense battle. 

"I think it's time we end the stream, thank you all for watching, goodbye!" Yabu says cheerfully, the other three members also saying goodbye.

"Ugh it's finally over." Yuya sighs, the sound of a head hitting a table audible. "I hate fighting the hell hound."

"What were the game developers thinking when they decided to add that boss at the end? It doesn't make sense to have such a difficult second phase." Yuto agrees, chugging water as he turns his voice changer off so he sounds normal again.

"And now Yuto is back. You have such a nice voice, it’s a shame our viewers can’t hear Yujikku’s real voice.”

“They can’t find out that I’m actually Yutomania, games are my escape from my own viewers, remember?”

“You’re still not going to quit?”

“...I can’t.” Yuto fiddles with his fingers. “Not at this point.”

“We know… we’re still supporting you, Yuto.” Hikaru says gently.

Yuto nods, thanking his friends.

“Anyways, I'd love to see you work on the development team for Jump Party so you could change this raid." Yabu says. "Speaking of work, you were busy this week again, huh? Anything new?"

"I've been swamped with work since one of the other design sections is being shit." Yuto grumbled. "I have enough on my plate with my own section. I don't need to have to work for another one too."

Everyone has been pushing work onto him and his section, but he can’t bother his people too much when they must already be so stressed in keeping up.

"How about the new pretty boy? Is he actually staying for good?" Yuya asks. "Though I guess he's not really new anymore since it’s been over a month."

"Yamada-kun? I think he is, he stayed all week, and he's still a little newbie to me." Yuto chuckles. "I haven't had time to speak with him about it lately, but he’s been complaining less I think?"

"Isn't it because you forced him into that stupid game to be compliant?"

“I don’t even know why I did that in the first place, and I didn't force him! I didn’t think he would actually accept the terms because I’m pretty sure he had a reason he had to quit in the first place.” Yuto wonders.

“Your competitive side came out as usual, huh?”

“Yeah. I know he’s smart and goal driven so I have to keep him on his toes.”

"Why not his knees?" Yabu jokes, Yuto coughing in response. "Are you sure it’s not just because you like teasing him?”

“No! It’s my job as his boss to keep my worker busy with  _ work _ .” Yuto protests. ”...But okay maybe part of it is because he’s fun to tease. He’s so cute when he gets all huffy and pouty. You guys seriously need to see how cute his-”

“Yeah yeah, his cute chubby cheeks, you talk about them  _ all _ the time. We know you like him.” Hikaru joins in.

Yuto rolls his eyes, this always happens to him. He can't resist talking about how cute Ryosuke is but it doesn't mean that he likes the guy, yet his friends tease him to just claim the smaller man as his own. God, does he want to touch and mark up his soft, pretty flawless skin… but he can’t just do that without his permission, he tells himself as he can’t resist giving teasing touches to him and seeing him fluster. Besides, he has no idea if Ryosuke even likes guys… not that he’s considered dating him.

From the first moment they met, he felt that the smaller boy didn’t like him though he still has no idea why, unable to find a time to ask him. It made him curious about him. It was nice when Ryosuke had joined for one of the dinners he hosts, wondering if he would have shown up to the last one if he didn’t cancel it since he was busy with work. It was too cute seeing the boy get drunk fast from a low tolerance, but mainly he liked seeing him look comfortable, having been visibly awkward since joining. The way that he flopped himself over the table (and on his shoulder) was adorable. He hated having to be so bossy to him and regrets having the rest of the section join in and ignoring him, but it was too late when he realized it, wanting Ryosuke to like him.

Because he wants everyone to like him.

"I’m still surprised someone hates you so openly, I thought people would be afraid to voice it out loud because of all your fans."

"Right? He's the first one to openly show that before we even talked. I had promised the owner of the store he works at to be tough on him and now he hates me even more... I don't know how to act around him now."

"Just act like yourself?"

"You mean extra hyper and flirty? He’d 1000% punch me.” Yuto despairs. “He already gives off a threatening aura everytime I'm around him so I have to try to resist reaching over and touching him but it’s sooo hard to resist.”

“I understand, I can’t resist it when Yabu is around me.”

"I'm going to bed soon, Hika do you want to join me?"

"You bet I do. We can-"

"You guys can go now bye!" Yuto interrupts, earning laughs from the two older members, talking a bit more before saying goodbye and leaving the voice chat. "That couple I swear." he sighs at Yuya after those two had left. "I'm glad you're not like that with Inoo-chan."

"Unlike them, we're not as open." Yuya agrees. "Which reminds me, I should call him."

"I have to respond to some fan comments from my last video anyways."

"Oh right I'm going to watch that first." Yuya says.

"You don't have to! It's not great."

"You say that everytime you post any video and every time it's a great video." Yuya reassures him. 

"I know… I just feel like I could do better."

"You're already doing great, Yuto."

"Thanks, Yuyan." Yuto smiles, still convinced Yuya is lying. 

After saying goodbye, he logs off the game, hesitating before opening up YouTube, relieved to see people had watched it and given it likes, scrolling through some of the comments, having thousands of them.

_ Soph_Beans: I love this song and your cover soooo much 💙💙 please keep making more _

_ Yutomania: Thank you for watching and commenting!! I’ll definitely continue! 😘 _

_ Jazzy839: THIS IS THE BEST ONE YOU’VE DONE EVER!!!! _

_ Yutomania: THANK YOU!!! I’m still improving! Keep watching me get better! 🥰😍 _

But of course, not all the comments were kind.

_ ___Shrek696969___: Lol this is shit why do people like this guy’s stuff when they’re so bad? _

_ Yuto_Angel: Maybe it’s because his stuff is actually really good? Get a life. _

_ Yutomania: I ask myself that too! 🧐 _

_ SassMaster1940: The original is better _

_ Yutomania: I have to agree the original is hard to beat. But thanks for watching anyways! 😅 _

_ DairySoup: Don’t listen to those people, both versions are great! _

He doesn’t mind when there are hate comments, there’s no way to please everyone after all. He still appreciates people tuning into his videos and giving him attention, satisfied with some people saying he made them happy. He had just replied to the last comment he was planning to reply to, happy with all the positive responses, always having more of those than the negative ones. It pleased him reading comments, but he wishes he had time to read all of them, but there were far too many and dozens more every minute.

Just before he closed the tab, one comment caught his attention, surprising him as he quickly reacted to move his mouse away from the X that would have closed it and lost the comment in the sea of words. He reads the short message over and over, wondering if it was who he thought it was.

_ Kurusuke: Used to watch some of your content but stopped, but this is one of my favorite songs so I had to listen to it. I didn’t expect it to be this good! Kudos. _

Kurusuke from Jump Party? There wouldn’t be anyone that would use the name Kurusuke, right? But he thought that his online friend that he liked so much didn’t like his content. He used to watch his stuff? Why did he stop? The questions filled Yuto’s head, but he knew he couldn't just ask him, not wanting to expose his identity like that.

Not yet.

Though, he’s pretty surprised that Kurusuke hasn’t connected the dots yet when he talks as Yujikku, having almost revealed himself several times but catching or saving himself. He wanted to reply and thank him, but he wasn’t sure if Kurusuke would want to be acknowledged by him as Yutomania and not Yujikku.

So he doesn’t reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some new, different insights... I hope it works 😳
> 
> Thank you for reading and to those who have left feedback 😘


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things have been a bit overwhelming lately, so I hope that everyone is doing well 💕 sorry for irregular updates but I'm still around~

Ryosuke’s lucky it's Sunday.

Time had flown by, losing track of how much had passed as he was still sitting at his computer, realizing the sun starting to shine through his window. Unexpectedly, he spent all night watching the Yuto drum covers he’s missed since it’s been years since he last caught up, even going back to listen to his old favorites. There were so many videos, not sure how Yuto has the time to record so many songs in one sitting, noticing how he has the same outfit in several of them. Sometimes he would throw in an oddball, using or adding random objects in his covers, like attaching a rubber chicken to his drum pedal, losing his mind at that one.

He tried watching one of his vlogs, impressed that he has time to record those as well, but he couldn’t stand listening to his voice after 10 seconds, feeling something bubble inside him, preferring listening to music where he doesn’t have to hear him talk. 

He didn't even feel that tired, vibing too much with the music, but he knew it would catch up to him later in the day and would need a nap. It wasn’t like he had plans for the day, just playing games with his friends as usual. This was a lazy day for him where he doesn’t have to think about work.

“One more song.” he mumbles to himself for the nth time, clicking on the next video, not minding that it was one that he already listened to, enjoying it nonetheless.

The Chibis are never going to find out about this, knowing they would never let him hear the end of it since he’s been so adamant in never liking Yuto’s videos. This wasn’t supposed to happen. If he could just separate the Yuto he knows from work and indulge in his social media personality without interacting with the fans like old times...

He considers taking a power nap before he has to do dungeon runs with them later, but he's not sure if he would be able to fall asleep now, so he makes himself breakfast before working out a bit, trying to keep his body in some shape since he spends so much time slumped in his gaming and work chair.

By the time it was noon, he was starting to feel much more sleepy after exercising, but he opened up discord to see if his friends were ready to play, hopping into the voice channel when they were ready.

"Hi." Ryosuke greets the other two.

"Ryosuke, you sound like you pulled an all nighter." Chinen comments without greeting him. 

"I never understand how you always know so quickly." Ryosuke muttered, yawning openly now that he doesn’t have to hide the fact that he was tired.

"What were you doing last night that made you so tired? Watching porn?" Daiki teases.

"No. I was just doing work that's all." he lied, which the two accepted without any questions.

After a few dungeons, Ryosuke was too unfocused so they decided to take a break from playing. Ryosuke decided to take a quick nap, putting his head down on his desk while listening to Chinen and Daiki talk about their own work.

“Can I play some music just for background noise?” Chinen asked.

“Sure fine with me.” Ryosuke mumbled, too sleepy to care, knowing that Chinen often put on good music.

“This one is for you, Ryosuke.” he announces, sounding almost evil, but Ryosuke is sure he’s imagining it.

Ryosuke just hums in response, hearing the beginning of Ai no Katamari.

“Oh it’s my favorite song.” he smiles but when familiar drums started playing Ryosuke shot up, his tiredness forgotten like when he wasn’t tired watching video after video just hours ago. "Wait this is Yutoma- no I mean fuck.” he slaps himself for knowing it right away even though it was just drums and for letting it slip out of his mouth.

“Wait, how did you know it’s a Yutomania cover?” Daiki cuts in before he could explain himself. “You listened to it already?”

“What? No, I just… I just saw a clip on Twitter earlier.” Ryosuke stutters, trying to back himself out of it. “I absolutely did NOT stay up all night watching his covers.”

So much for trying to hide it.

“I only played this planning to get you to say you like it without telling you Yuto made it but I guess you made this easy for us.” Chinen giggled. "So that’s why you’re so tired right now, rather watch Yuto than sleep?" he continued to tease him.

Ryosuke groans out loud, unable to avoid it now, but he’s convinced that this doesn’t make him a fan of some sort of Yuto’s so he doesn’t know why he feels so embarrassed. Music is just interesting to listen to and it just happens to be by the guy he hates but it’s still music.

Right?

"I don't know what got into me. I was just on Twitter then suddenly I'm on YouTube and it's 6 am in the morning!" Ryosuke groaned, still not sure how he managed to watch Yuto's drum videos without wanting to toss his phone at his computer.

"Don't you have his account blocked?"

"Yeah but I can't avoid when people tweet about him like," he coughs. "You two."

"Sorry." the two responded sheepishly.

“But come on Ryosuke.” Chinen continued. “I don’t get a single bad vibe from him and you know how good I am at that. He’s done nothing but good deeds according to the media, like donating and volunteering. He puts others before himself.”

Ryosuke sighed, everything that Keito said to him last night in his mind all day, from saying that they were similar to each other to how he’s supposedly special in some way and Yuto was looking for someone like him.

Why  _ him _ ?

“Look I’m trying to… get used to the guy.” Ryosuke mumbled, fiddling with his fingers. "And I'm going to take it slow."

He can’t stop thinking that maybe things would be better if he didn’t hate him as much as he does and he could enjoy his job more if he were to tolerate Yuto. But it feels hard for him when he just resorts to his grudge that stemmed from before he even knew him as a person. Chinen and Daiki got him thinking about how the fangirls are the reason why he hates him so much and it might not be Yuto himself. If you take away those problematic fangirls, maybe it would be fun to be competitive with Yuto, he doesn’t know.

He’s just so tired of being angry all the time.

"Really? Why? What made you want to get to have a change of heart?"

"I was just talking to my coworker over dinner and the topic of Nakajima-san came up. I just thought maybe I should give him a chance to redeem himself."

“Coworker? The English guy you like?” Daiki hummed. "Ah, so it's out of love for your crush that you want to befriend Yuto."

“I’m not befriending him! I just want to not get a headache whenever he’s in the same room as me.” Ryosuke rolls his eyes. “But yeah the English guy. But I don’t know my feelings anymore.” Ryosuke muttered, placing his head in his hands. “He was talking about… uh how he thought someone he met was love at first sight but they weren’t romantically fit and he might have only liked him because he was…” his face scrunches up thinking of Yuto. “Cute.”

It would be better not to share that private piece of information that Keito told him until at least the public knows about it. Even if it was his friends he figured he should still be respectful. 

“So what? You think you like the guy just because he’s cute too?” Chinen questioned him. “Send a picture.”

“I’m not sending a picture.” Ryosuke replied. "He IS cute and I want to like him but I feel like he doesn't like me in a romantic way so I don't know what to do. What if he’s not romantically fit for me either?"

He realized he was the only one that seemed to be interested, after finding out that Keito and Yuto had hit it off right away when on the other hand they've known each other for over a month. It does make him feel a little hurt being involved in unrequited love, but he can get over it.

Probably.

"Who are you and what did you do to the real Yamada Ryosuke that wouldn't just give up like that?"

"I'm not giving up, I'm going to talk to him about it later." Ryosuke defended himself, having planned out his talk with Keito. “But it feels like the world is telling me not to date him." Ryosuke hums, unable to get the thought of Keito with Yuto to stop nagging him. It just bothered him greatly if the two were to get together again, heart about to burst.

He knows that it’s against company rules to date anyways, but it’s worth a shot to try to confess to Keito to see how he feels about him first. But it doesn’t feel like it would be the end of the world if he were to get rejected.

As long as Keito doesn’t end up dating Yuto then it should be fine… but why does it bother him so much if they were to date again?

“Maybe Keito isn’t your soulmate.” Daiki suggested. “Anyways, you sound much more awake now Yama. Up for more dungeons?”

If Ryosuke needed anything right now, it’s a distraction from his life, putting his attention into the fictional world he’s invested so much in.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

~~~

Just talk to him.

Ryosuke swallows as he catches Yuto at the end of the hallway, briskly coming his way while looking down at a clipboard, eyebrows furrowed. Even though he told himself he would try to talk to Yuto more, it’s been a week and he hasn’t made any progress, considering they were both so busy and he couldn’t find a time to chat with him other than about work. He doesn’t know how best to act around Yuto now, willing himself not to let it slip that he has watched some of his videos like he did with the Chibis. Instead, he has to hold his tongue better.

He spent more time watching more of Yuto’s drum videos, cursing how easily addicted he can get to content he likes. Games have been his main fixation for awhile but work has been getting in the way and now he’s on Youtube again. He’s not sure how to balance each activity out, trying to give attention to all of them.

Yuto has also been weird all week, sharing the gifts- such as sweets and food- that he receives from fangirls with the section more often, noticing that he’s been giving him more attention than his other coworkers. He’s not sure if he minds it, wishing he could refuse free stuff from Yuto, but there’s been an odd increase in strawberry related sweets sitting on his desk and he can’t deny those. It’s been throwing him off with how nice he’s been, giving him more helpful advice on his work, nothing like how he treated him before.

Yet at the same time he could tell that Yuto was still more stressed than anyone should ever be, not sure how he should talk to him, wondering if Yuto would be annoyed with him and blow up. He never had this problem before, never having thought about Yuto constantly doing actual work instead of sitting at his desk and barking orders. Usually he's too focused on his own work to pay attention to what Yuto was doing, but now he's noticed that Yuto is constantly doing something.

It’s all Keito’s fault for planting those thoughts into his head.

As Yuto came closer to him, giving him a quick nod before looking back at his clipboard, Ryosuke swallows, hesitating before speaking out.

“Hello, uh, Nakajima-san. How’s it going?” Ryosuke waves awkwardly as they pass each other, making Yuto jump slightly.

“Hello, Yamada-kun.” Yuto stopped in his tracks for a moment. “I can’t talk long since I have a meeting now but what do you need?”

Did he need something?

“Nothing, I just wanted to check in?” Ryosuke scratched his neck.

“Oh.” Yuto blinked, tilting his head to the side slightly. “You don’t normally stop to talk to me unless you have something to ask or show me.”

“Is it that weird?” Ryosuke frowned, wondering if it was wrong to ask.

He’s seen others strike up conversations with him before, and it may have been the first time that Ryosuke was the one to initiate small talk during the work day that wasn’t the morning when they are obliged to greet each other. But was it that surprising?

“No!” Yuto replied quickly. “I didn’t mean it negatively, it just caught me off guard. I’m… fine.” he still looked confused as he glanced at his watch. “I’d love to talk more but I should get going, I’ll check in with you later?”

“Sure, I should have the folder done by then.” Ryosuke agreed, his mind no longer on his work. “Then I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah.”

They didn’t have time to talk later.

As Ryosuke walked away all he could do was internally cringe at how the conversation went, choosing an obviously bad time to try to talk to him. It could have gone better if he had just talked to him when he wasn’t busy, but there seemed to never be a time when Yuto wasn’t rushing to a meeting or was too focused on work. He has even been staying for extra overtime and Ryosuke feels bad about taking away his time if he were to try to talk to him then.

Why is he trying so hard to talk to Yuto?

He’ll just try again tomorrow.

When it was Thursday, he got distracted as he was doing his work, mindlessly watching Yuto move across the room back and forth. It hardly registered in his brain when his boss was in front of him and asking him for something, scrambling to get it done. After he gave what he wanted, he became unfocused again.

He watched Yuto, hurrying with a stack of paper he had just given him, getting interrupted by two people to ask him questions along the way just getting to the other side of the room.

"Hey Yamada-kun did you finish your part yet?" a voice brings him back, turning to his coworker.

"Sorry I'll have it done soon." he can't be distracted now, not sure why he was spending so much time today watching Yuto.

As the day finishes up with only a small break for lunch, Ryosuke sighs in relief as he submits his last assignment. He glances at Yuto, who still has a pile of work scattered on his desk and he decides he’ll just talk to him tonight, planning to go to the section dinner.

“Good work today, Nakajima-san.” he nods his head. “I’ll see you later.”

“Oh wait Yamada-kun.” Yuto stops him. “I still want to get a bit more work done right now but do you have some time to chat before you go?”

“Yes.” Ryosuke swallows, unsure what Yuto wanted to talk to him about.

Did he mess up again? Is he going to be angry? Was it because he interrupted him earlier and made him late for his meeting?

“Great, could you maybe give me 15 minutes and I’ll meet you in the break room?”

“Okay.”

Yuto nods, placing his focus back onto his computer again, furiously typing without looking at the keyboard.

Ryosuke watches him for a moment, amazed at how fast his long fingers can move across the keyboard, before he heads to the break room to wait for Yuto to join him. It was eerily quiet in the room, his foot tapping impatiently. He did have plans before the dinner, but he supposes that he shouldn’t ignore a request from his boss.

It’s only been two months since he’s started to work here, but he feels like he has matured a bit, able to be more humble. While he still wanted to beat Yuto at something, he realized that he needed to improve himself more first instead of getting uselessly hot headed.

When 25 minutes passed, Ryosuke was starting to get more impatient and nervous, wondering if this was some kind of joke to waste his time. He was debating with himself to wait a little longer when a figure finally walked into the room.

“I’m glad you’re still here.” Yuto sighs in relief.

“Yeah what-” Ryosuke yelps slightly as Yuto tossed an object at him, scrambling to catch it.

Cold.

“Juice?” Ryosuke looked at the can, most likely bought from the vending machine outside.

“Sorry I was late, I got into the coding and lost track of time.” Yuto laughed. “You know when you get so into something you’re having fun with and lose track of time?”

“Yeah I feel that all the time.” Ryosuke agreed, suppressing a yawn from remembering how he had stayed up all night, losing track of time watching his videos.

“Anyways, how was your work today?” Yuto asked. “I didn’t have time to check in on you.”

“It went fine, it was quite a bit of work but I got it done.” if he had been focused on it all day he could have finished earlier and with better quality but instead he barely managed to rush it at the end.

If he was given that amount of work when he first began working here, he wouldn’t have gotten close to finishing it all.

“Sorry, was it too much again?” Yuto frowned. “I’ll keep that in mind next time and I could give you less so you could get it done in time.”

“That’s not necessary, I can handle it.” his competitive side came out again without him thinking, but he also genuinely believed he could manage. “Besides if I get less then that just means it’ll go to someone else, right?” knowing that the whole section was busy with their own work already, he couldn't just give his work to others like that when it’s his job.

“Don’t worry about it.” Yuto waved him away, taking a sip from his juice. “I know how to adjust it.”

Ryosuke frowned, a thought in his head that he was hoping wasn’t true, but he had to ask.

“Are you taking on the work yourself?”

Yuto’s hand stops, letting the can rest on his lips.

“Your work has been improving and you’ve been getting more done lately.” Yuto says casually.

And just like that, Yuto changed the subject, Ryosuke’s pride getting fed with the compliment. They ended up discussing the week, where Yuto explained to him how this was going to affect next week and Ryosuke was absorbed, taking notes. 

Then they dispersed.

It was bothering Ryosuke that Yuto was still doing more work and he almost wishes that he stayed behind to help him, but he had plans to meet someone and he couldn’t afford to be late.

He had purposely waited until Thursday to talk to Keito about his feelings, knowing that the section dinner was tonight. If he ends up getting rejected, he'll just drink himself to have a good time or if he does get his feelings returned he could still drink for a good time but perhaps as a not single man.

"Wait." Keito blinked after Ryosuke faked his confidence in confessing that he’s liked Keito ever since he started talking to him during training. "You like me as in… Romantically like?"

_ Oh my God he never noticed. _

"Yes." Ryosuke nodded. 

"Thanks Yamada but…" Keito awkwardly scratches the back of his neck and that hesitation kills Ryosuke inside. "I can't return your feelings… Sorry." He bowed slightly in apology.

It was just as he expected but it still hurt him either way.

"It's not a problem." Ryosuke forces a smile. "Friends?" he holds out a hand, seeing Keito sigh in relief, taking his hand.

"Friends."

~~~

"Aren't you drinking a bit too much?" Yuto pries the glass of beer from Ryosuke's hand for the second time that night.

Since he’s paying for everything he at least tries to keep track of what everyone is ordering, noticing that Ryosuke was ordering more in a shorter time span than the last time. And if he had gotten drunk the last time… he doesn’t want him to drink too much this time.

He had considered cancelling this week’s dinner as well, considering he still had more work to do, but he didn’t want to let his people down, wanting to give them something to celebrate. But instead of seeing everyone happy, he immediately noticed that Ryosuke was in a much darker mood than when they had spoken just earlier today, wondering what had happened in the time frame they weren't together, but he felt that Ryosuke wouldn’t tell him if he asked.

"Am not." Ryosuke defended himself, reaching for the beer in his hand, his short arms unable to reach.

"You are."

"I need this." he pouted and if Yuto wasn’t trying to be stern he would have giggled at how cute he looked as he was clearly at least tipsy already.

"I don't want your health to be affected." Yuto stressed, trying to be serious without teasing him.

There was a pause and Yuto thought that he won but then Ryosuke continued.

"I just got rejected by someone I like."

Yuto's face softened at his words, trying to think of the best way to comfort him.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

“So that’s why I’m here alone.”

That’s why Ryosuke seemed so down when he first entered the restaurant, feeling sorry for the man, looking so innocent.

“I’m sure that there’s someone that’s willing to be by your side, there’s plenty of people around you.” Yuto tries. “It’s hard to imagine someone like you not being able to get a good girlfriend.”

“I wish but there isn’t anything good about me.” Ryosuke replies bitterly, placing his head in his arms on the table. "And I don't want a girlfriend. I'm gay."

Oh. That's neat. He likes guys like he does, except Yuto likes girls as well.

"Then you'll get a good boyfriend! Since you're..." Yuto could make a list of positive words about Ryosuke, trying to think of which ones to say. “You’re a hard worker, smart… pretty.” he resists the urge to run his fingers through his soft hair and caress his flawless skin.

“You’re just saying those things to make me feel better.”

Yuto swallows.

“But I’m speaking the truth.”

There was a pause of silence, but Ryosuke finally looked up, his face slightly redder than it was before. Is he that drunk?

“Who are you and what did you do with the real Nakajima Yuto?”

“Last time I checked, he’s right next to you.”

“Oh.” Ryosuke put his head back down. “Can you make him go away for a bit?”

Yuto doesn’t want to leave his side when he’s like this, but he got up anyway, moving to a different seat. Ryosuke has always shown a distaste for speaking one on one with him anyways, surprised that he was willing to chat earlier at the office.

But he still kept an eye on him.

When Yuto did return to Ryosuke’s side he seemed less depressed and more talkative with the others around him, having gotten his hands on another drink, so he figured it was a good sign to try to talk to him again.

They had a conversation as a small group and things seemed to be going okay until the others moved away, leaving them alone together again amidst the noise of the background, Yuto honing in on the smaller man. Ryosuke doesn’t speak to him and he respects that, giving the guy some space instead of forcing him to talk. He was hoping he wasn’t making anything awkward for him so he gets up to leave him alone when he feels a tug on his shirt, pulling him back down to his seat, Ryosuke still looking down.

“You make preeeetty okay content... sometimes.” Ryosuke murmured finally after holding onto his shirt and not saying anything for a full minute.

He supposes that must be a genuine compliment coming from Ryosuke, which has never happened before. It was usually accompanied with a snarky tone but this time he looked more vulnerable, more honest.

“Of course I do, I’ve been working with game design since I was-” Yuto began but Ryosuke lets go of his shirt, waving his hand in front of his face.

“Nnn… not that.” Ryosuke pursed his lips, thinking hard. “The  _ other _ content.”

“Other content? What are you-” Yuto was confused but then realized he might be talking about his social media accounts. “Oh, like my social media posts and Youtube videos? You think so?”

It wasn't what he really wanted a compliment on, but he'll take it anyways. 

“Yeah that stuff.”

“Thanks, what do you like about them?” Yuto questioned, curious since he’s always anxious about what he uploads, only putting up a few from the tons of ideas he scraps.

“S’weird since I used to watch yer videos.” Ryosuke hiccuped, completely ignoring the question, but Yuto forgives him since he was clearly drunk. 

“Oh?” Yuto raised an eyebrow. “So you knew about me before you started working under me.” he watched him, using the opportunity to be able to examine him close up.

His face was slightly pink from being drunk, though not as red as earlier, with his plush lips a nice shade of pink. His eyes were pretty, but slightly dark and sad from his recent heartbreak, wishing he could hug and comfort him as they tried to focus on him. His dark hair is a slight mess as he keeps running his hand through it, nose twitching a little as Yuto can see the cogs in his head struggling to turn to form sentences.

Cute. 

Ryosuke ends up blabbering about some nonsense about something on the radio and Yuto never got to hear the answers to his questions, wondering if he would ever get them.

“Do you need me to drive you home?” Yuto asked at the end of the dinner, attempting to help him stand up as Ryosuke put an arm around him to walk him out, which led to Ryosuke clinging onto him, wrapping both his arms around his torso. “Yamada-kun I need you to…” he tries prying Ryosuke off him, sighing as he fails, nervously glancing around to see others staring and giggling at the two boys almost wrestling each other. “You’re drunk and I need you to help me out here.”

While Yuto has briefly touched Ryosuke’s body before, having been pressed against him before, it felt more intimate as Ryosuke was practically all over him, never noticing how strong he really was, unable to avoid his hands feeling his muscles though his shirt.

Though he could probably still beat him in an arm wrestle. He’s going to have to ask him later.

Not only were his arms thick with muscle, he could also sense his thighs were beautiful through his pants and Yuto gulps, weak to good thighs.

“Nah.” Ryosuke replies, Yuto almost forgetting what he asked him. “Taxi.”

When Yuto finally manages to pry Ryosuke off of him he calls a taxi for Ryosuke, leading them out into the cool air outside. They wait in silence, Yuto having to keep Ryosuke from wandering off. The fresh air seemed to have calmed him down, the smaller complying as the taxi pulled up, Yuto opening the door for him.

"Thanks for… Listening. I guess." Ryosuke mumbled to him before taking his seat and telling the driver his address.

"I'm your boss, you can come to me anytime you have a problem." Yuto says gently.

But maybe it feels difficult.

Ryosuke scrunches his face, seeming to prove his assumption, looking away.

"Okay. I’ll keep that in mind."

Yuto watches Ryosuke close the door, just glancing his way for a moment before looking forward as they drive away.

Back to work he goes.


	10. Chapter 10

Ryosuke wakes up near noon, hungover and confused as to how he even got home, having forgotten most of his memories of the previous night. All he remembers is someone having to carry him outside to a taxi and now it’s the next day with him at his apartment in his bed. His head was pounding, stumbling as he stood up to get himself a glass of water.

After he quenches his thirst, he lies back in his bed, trying to piece together the night, starting from before the dinner. He remembers how he had talked to Keito, feeling crushed when his feelings didn’t get returned, feeling his chest hurt somewhat again but not as much as it did yesterday. While he doesn’t want to spend his time feeling dejected, he couldn’t help himself but feel disappointed and down.

The drinking definitely made him feel somewhat better, distracting him from his sadness. He had gotten to the restaurant by himself, immediately ordering a drink, chugging it before he even had a chance to eat anything and ordering another. He got tipsy fast because of that, others telling him to slow down. One of them was probably Yuto, giving him some reason like "I'm your boss and I order you to stop" he grimaces.

He talked a lot with whoever was around him, only recalling bits and pieces of conversations. He doesn't remember crying, thankfully, he would never forgive himself if he had burst out in tears in front of everyone just because he was lonely and single. He thinks that he might have opened up a bit to Yuto, but he doesn’t remember getting angry at him or anything.

Giving up trying to remember everything so his head doesn’t explode, he picks up his phone, seeing texts from his online friends, asking if he wanted to play games together later, needing a distraction from his rejection. He winces as he notices several missed texts and a missed call from Yuto, hoping he didn’t do anything dumb last night.

_ Nakajima (boss): Did you make it home safely? _

_ Did you sleep well? _

_ Do you need medicine or water or anything? _

_ Are you still resting? _

_ I hope you’re well _

_ Wait are you working today?? _

_ You shouldn’t be working if you feel sick _

_ As your (other) boss you should be getting rest _

There were more messages like those and Ryosuke couldn’t help but smile, forgetting who the person who sent them was as his heart fluttered a little. It felt nice to pretend that his health was cared about, having not many friends that check on him other than the Chibis. He sends a quick response telling him that he was fine and he had expected himself to lose control with alcohol, already having the okay from Jun to miss work today. It was too late at this time to go anyways, sleeping through the start of his shift.

Feeling low on energy, he forces himself to make a quick easy breakfast, even though it was near lunch time. He munched on some chocolate he had bought earlier, the sweet boosting his mood, proceeding to turn on his computer to distract himself with Jump Party, not expecting anyone to be on since it was a work day for the Chibis.

_ Yujikku: Oh?! Is that Kuru I see online?? _

_ Kurusuke: Is that Yujik?? You’re not working? _

_ Yujikku: I was working earlier but I’m taking a break… you’re not usually on at this time right? :o _

_ Kurusuke: A lot happened yesterday so I’m taking a day off… _

_ Yujikku: Oh okay _

_ Do you want to do a dungeon together to get it off your mind? _

_ Kurusuke: It’s like you know exactly what I wanted _

_ Yes _

Unsurprisingly, Ryosuke was unable to focus on the game due to still being hungover, apologizing to Yujikku as he dies again. They eventually stop trying, Yujikku scolding him to rest instead if he feels sick but Ryosuke was too stubborn. In the end, the other one wins and they sit to chat.

_ Kurusuke: Have you ever been rejected by someone you like? _

_ Yujikku: Yeah it sucks _

_ Kurusuke: What did you do after it happened? _

_ Yujikku: Shut myself in my room playing games and eating chocolate I bought for myself… Lol  _

_ Kurusuke: ADGFGS that's exactly what I'm doing right now  _

_ Yujikku: Oh shit you actually got rejected? Sorry :( _

_ I can make a playlist for you later _

_ Someone else I know had also got rejected recently _

_ Kurusuke: Guess it just wasn't meant to be for the both of us :( _

_ Anyways enough of that… how has work been, haven’t been on much _

With work being so busy for the both of them, they’ve only been able to have short exchanges about their days outside of their games. Somehow talking to Yujikku always seemed to calm him down when he was angry. He was able to say the right words to him and send him good music recommendations, matching his taste, boosting his mood. He didn’t get the chance to tell him about Keito so he figured he should throw it out, but he didn’t want to think about it now.

_ Yujikku: Things are still chaotic over here and it might get even busier for me but I’ll be fine, I can handle it _

_ Kurusuke: How do you still have time to play video games?? _

_ But good luck anyways I’m supporting you _

_ Yujikku: Thanks >///< _

_ I make the time _

_ How about you? Are things still weird at yours? _

_ Kurusuke: It’s been a couple of weeks right? Well... _

_ I think things are getting better? I’m getting better at what I work with and I think my relationships with my boss and coworkers are improving _

_ Yujikku: Are you guys just suddenly friends or something? _

_ Kurusuke: No way _

_ I’m just trying to see him in a different light if I’m going to work with him and it’s made such a difference _

His opinion on Yuto has changed recently, trying to recognize that Yuto has a lot going on in his life and has worked hard, compared to how he always believed social influencers are always handed everything on a silver platter. He expected it to take weeks before he would  _ start _ feeling something different around Yuto, but he noticed that Yuto’s been extra kind with him even though he’s so busy. He still didn't like being around him, but it wasn't as bad as when they first met.

After observing Yuto’s work ethics for the whole week, he could see that Yuto was struggling a little bit to keep everything in order. It made him feel a bit better, knowing that he has troubles sometimes and has to rush. Like how he had to in the beginning.

_ Yujikku: How so? _

_ Kurusuke: It’s like his personality did a 180 switch and he’s a whole new person?? _

_ He’s just… been a lot more helpful and we’ve been texting each other about work more and he keeps checking on me though it can get soooo annoying sometimes _

_ Yujikku: So, you like him? _

_ Kurusuke: Wtf _

_ No _

_ Yujikku: But isn’t he nicer to you? _

_ Kurusuke: That doesn’t mean I LIKE him _

_ Just because he’s some nice pretty boy doesn’t mean anything, his personality is weird _

_ I can’t see myself with him _

He doesn’t like Nakajima Yuto. He just can tolerate him more now.

_ Yujikku: I meant it as in he’s not a bad person like you thought or a friends way but “nice pretty boy” might mean something different o.o _

_ Kurusuke: I _

_ What?? _

_ Yujikku: Come to think of it you’ve called him pretty multiple times before... so you like guys? _

_ Kurusuke: Well yes but _

_ That’s not the point _

_ Not guys like him _

_ And he's my fucking boss _

_ Yujikku: That doesn't mean you can't get into a forbidden relationship ooooh _

_ Kurusuke: SHUT UP _

_ Yujikku: BUT IMAGINE!! The lonely, quiet worker falls in love with the arrogant bad boy boss and has to win his heart _

_ Kurusuke: THIS ISN’T A FANFIC _

_ Yujikku: Enemies to lovers… I ship it _

_ Kurusuke: Like I said, just because he's pretty doesn't mean anything _

_ A good personality is what’s best  _

_ Yujikku: But didn't you say earlier that his shitty personality did a 180? So it’s good now? _

_ Kurusuke: Yes but  _

_ No _

_ Yujikku: You DO talk about him a lot  _

_ Have you thought about dating him before? _

_ Kurusuke: That's because I was ranting about him! _

Ryosuke couldn't help but blush, trying to fend off his comments. It wasn't like he never imagined dating Yuto before, remembering how he used to be a delusional fan and dreamed of making contact with him, but it never ended well in his mind considering how popular he is with girls.

_ Kurusuke: Well what about you? Are you interested in anyone? _

_ Yujikku: Maybe a little? But I wouldn’t say for certain _

_ I’m sure he would reject me in a heartbeat _

_ Kurusuke: It’s always worth a try, I mean I took a shot and sure it didn’t work out but at least I made the effort _

_ Yujikku: Sounds like something you would do lol _

_ Anyways while I would love to tease you more, I should get back to work. Didn’t think I would be talking to someone during my break _

_ Kurusuke: Okay I’ll see you later Yujik! _

_ Yujikku: Get some rest for me Kuru! Bye~ _

Guess it would be a good idea to get some rest as his friend says.

~~~

When he wakes up a couple of hours later, he feels his headache lessened, hoping he has enough strength to focus on his games this time, noticing he had missed messages from the Chibis, the two already playing without him.

“Yama! We thought you were dying!” Daiki exclaims upon his entrance into the voice channel. “Thought you died of a broken heart.”

“I’m fine, still hungover but alive I guess.” Ryosuke sighs. “I’m not going to die over something like that dumbass.”

Ryosuke had made sure to text his friends as soon as he had gotten rejected by Keito, his friends sending him virtual hugs and comforting words, glad to have them in his life to make him feel better. He was supposed to text them when he had gotten home that night but he had fallen asleep quickly after.

“We were just talking about the newest gossip on Yutomania, did you see it?” Chinen brought up.

“What news? I haven’t checked social media today.”

“Apparently he was caught being clingy with someone last night.” Daiki answers. “Not much information was said so it’s probably something stupid or fake. You were around him, right? Noticed anyone weird there?”

Last night? He doesn’t remember much about the previous night, but he doesn’t recall anything out of the ordinary.

“I think there was some woman I wasn’t as familiar with?” Ryosuke thought, but thinking about it just made his head hurt even more. “I don’t remember.”

“Really? Think it was his girlfriend or something?” Daiki gasps. “Maybe the news is actually true?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was dating someone already, he’s pretty handsome and girls would do anything to date him.” Chinen comments, disappointed.

“So what if he’s pretty?” Ryosuke replies, rolling his eyes.

“What, are you jealous?” Chinen teases him.

“What? Why would I be jealous of someone like him?” Ryosuke defended himself. “I think I’m kinda okay looking.”

“Well you just got rejected and are still single.” Chinen started.

“Shut up.”

“Sorry I had to.” the youngest apologized. “But no I mean jealous of the person dating Yuto.”

“You’ve spent, what, 2-3 months with him now, has your opinion on him changed?” Daiki adds on.

“Things may be getting a bit better but I still get annoyed with him around me. I swear my heart rate just speeds up and my skin just tingles to punch him. It almost feels like it’s gotten worse after this week for some reason even though I think I feel less angry.”

He was met with a few moments of silence.

“Hey Ryosuke.” Chinen says slowly. “How did your heart feel when you were around the English boy you like?”

Around Keito? Unlike around Yuto, he felt happier and calmer with Keito, clearly liking him romantically.

“I get all flustered and tingly inside and it’s like my heart is going so fast it’s going to escape and I just really want to reach over and hug or kiss him and-”

“Okay okay I get it. Gross.” Chinen interrupts before he can go further with his desires, holding back a giggle. “I’ve always thought it was weird how you explained your anger towards Yuto.”

“Oh!” Daiki exclaims, Ryosuke hearing a clap from him. “I get it now!”

“What?” Ryosuke questions, confused on where this was going and why Chinen had asked him that. “What do you get? What’s weird?”

“Well, if you just kinda compare how you described how you feel around Yuto and then how you felt around the guy you like…” Daiki explains. “How do you know it’s anger towards Yuto and not love?”

Ryosuke’s jaw drops open. Him? In  _ love _ with  _ Yuto _ ?

“W-what? Just because he helps me a few times doesn’t mean I’m in love.”

“So, you like him-”

“I DO NOT LIKE HIM CHI.” he retorts a little louder than he meant slamming a fist on the table. “I know I used to talk about him a lot and-”

“You still do.” Chinen interrupts, Ryosuke glaring at the screen. “You’re trying to glare at me, aren’t you?”

“A-anyways.” Ryosuke clears his throat. “He’s my boss, and no we’re not getting into a forbidden relationship.”

“Where did that come from?”

“Nowhere!” he exhales, feeling his headache getting stronger. “Let’s just hurry up and do something since I’m on before my head starts to explode again.”

Now that he’s thinking about Yuto as a person, he wasn’t as bad as he originally thought he was, almost being a completely different person that he doesn’t mind... He involuntarily makes a face at the thought.

Desperately trying to change the subject while fending off their teasing, they finally get back into the game, the conversation about Yuto dropping.

Later on, Ryosuke noticed Yujikku wasn’t online, which seemed odd to him considering he was  _ always  _ on during this time. He’ll probably just come on later in the night, still busy with his previous work, but Ryosuke sends him a message on Discord just in case.

But Yujikku didn’t log on that night.

“I wonder what Yujikku’s doing…” Ryosuke wonders aloud.

“Are you that worried about him?”

“I’m not worried! We just agreed we would do this dungeon together but he isn’t responding to my messages. He must be busy with his jobs.”

“What if he got a girlfriend?”

“I cannot imagine someone like him getting a girlfriend.”

“Like how I can’t imagine you getting a boyfriend.”

“Fuck off.”

~~~

The next week went similar to the previous week, Ryosuke busy watching Yuto run around the office while trying to get his own work done on time. He was still quickly getting better at his work, everything coming more easily and naturally for him since he’s been learning from the internet and from the people around him. He felt a little bad about interrupting Yuto to ask questions, but still did it anyway, taking a bit of joy in watching him trying to balance everything.

Payback for how Yuto made his life harder earlier. But even if his questions seemed silly, Yuto still gave him well thought out responses, encouraging him to work as hard as his boss is.

At the end of the week, his shift at the convenience store dragged on, still getting more customers as the weeks passed. Once his shift finally ended, he jumped out of his seat, his mind already set on playing video games for the rest of the night, stressed over work. First, he needs to grab some food so that he doesn’t need to leave his apartment for the weekend, an easy task as he was in a convenience store, with a sweet employee discount. Once he secures his meals, he happily rushes out in the direction of his apartment.

“Yamada-kun!”

He stops in his tracks, looking to his side after hearing his name in a familiar voice, frowning as he watches Yuto trying to catch up to him.

Ugh, not him.

Just when he has finally stopped thinking about him, he just comes up to him in person and he's back on his mind.

“What do you want?” he asks impatiently once Yuto gets close enough after walking at a snail’s pace.

“I’ve been looking for you. You skipped the section dinner yesterday, were you sick? You didn’t respond to my texts.” he says, the worry in his face almost pissing the elder off.

He thought he had explained to him already that he wasn’t showing up for it considering he had plans, but he must have forgotten to mention it. He just didn’t feel the need to go, having far more important things to attend. He had chosen to ignore Yuto’s text before it, but ended up forgetting to reply at all.

Honestly, he’s surprised that Yuto is still trying to work with him, especially after Ryosuke being a bother to him all week about work.

“I’m fine now. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other important things to do.”

He starts to turn around to leave, when a hand touches his shoulder, spinning him back around to face Yuto with a questioning expression on his face.

“What more do you want now?” Ryosuke snaps out.

“Did you forget you agreed to meet with me to go over your game proposal?” Yuto raises an eyebrow. “The other day you said after your shift today we could meet. Guess you really didn't read my texts when I tried to remind you."

Fuck. He agreed to meet because he was sick of Yuto bothering him about it and he actually did forget about it. It was his first time making his own proper game proposal for the company so that Yuto could see what he needs to work on.

“I did read-nevermind. Maybe we can look at it some other time-”

“It’s due tomorrow.”

Right.

“Yeah and-”

“Yamada-kun.”

“Ugh. Fine. Let’s just go.” he feels defeated, feeling like there was no point in arguing and wasting more of his precious time, quickly sending a text to his friends that he can’t make it today.

They head over to a small study room in a nearby building, settling down as they both take their laptops out, opening up the documents they needed.

“Did you even work on it properly?” Yuto questions, looking over at what Ryosuke had typed out, which was not much.

It was a simple task given to him, asking if he had any idea about popular types of apps and if their company could do something related to it. 

“I was going to finish it tonight?” he shrugged, expecting Yuto to get annoyed with him and scold him for procrastinating as everyone always does. That’s just how he works, he works better when there’s pressure and people don’t understand that, often hearing the same lecture about not procrastinating.

Except Yuto didn’t scold him.

“Okay, just give it some time, I’ll be right here if you have any questions or are stuck.” he starts working on his own thing, leaving Ryosuke dumbfounded to his own work.

Oooookay.

It’s a little too quiet in the room and Ryosuke has a bit of trouble focusing, just some tapping from both him and Yuto as they typed. It was starting to drive him crazy, his head wandering off on anything that wasn’t the document in front of him. He would prefer if there was music playing or some other type of white noise.

At some point he becomes stuck on how to better word his concept so it sounds more interesting, sounding too bland. He just stares at it for a while before Yuto notices that he had stopped typing, looking up at him. 

“Is something wrong?” Yuto questions softly, the first words to be spoken in awhile and it threw Ryosuke off a little bit with how gentle he sounded compared to his usual boss like tones.

“No. I mean. Yes. Maybe.” he mumbled, not wanting Yuto to help him, wishing he was able to do this on his own rather than rely on someone else, and especially not Nakajima Yuto. He doesn’t even expect him to help him, waiting for the usual ‘figure it out yourself’ to come out.

“Let me see where you are.” Yuto shifts to sit next to him, turning his laptop to read what he has so far.

Ryosuke becomes overly aware of the quiet room again as Yuto reads his stupid idea about some game based on a dream he had recently. They were alone together, with Yuto sitting right next to him and probably judging his work, thinking how his is always better. He notices that Yuto had a gentle yet manly cologne, which he knew he also had back in his room since he liked it. Luckily he didn't use it on himself today or it would've been weird to smell the same.

“I think this part here could be explained a bit more, it's vague.” Yuto says slowly, tapping on his chin.

Ryosuke’s mouth opens a little and closes. Was he actually trying to be helpful? 

He begins to ramble about what he wants, not sure how to put his thoughts into words. Yuto intently listens, a finger on his lips looking insightful as he goes through his long train of thought, unable to put it in formal words.

“Why don’t you add more suspense here?” Yuto hums, thinking of advice.

Which gave Ryosuke a light bulb moment.

“Oh that’s what I was missing!” Ryosuke turns his laptop back to him, typing his thoughts quickly before he forgets them.

“How about the rest? I can help more?” Yuto peeks over at the pieces that were left.

“Pft, I don’t need more of your help.” Ryosuke scoffs.

“C’mon, just let me.” Yuto moves closer to him.

The two work his proposal together, Yuto fiddling with his wording to get to the point. For some reason Ryosuke felt motivated to finish the assignment, asking Yuto more questions about ways to make this more realistic.

“This is actually impressive, seriously, I never would have thought of this stuff, it’s like you spent hours on it when it hasn’t been long at all.” Yuto says after checking the document for the last time.

Ryosuke weakly cheers, his brain too tired.

“That took far longer than I thought it would.” he sighs.

If it was only him, he probably could have finished it in much less time, but definitely not as well done as it is now.

“I imagine that if we didn’t meet for this you would be staying up all night struggling to write about unnecessary stuff.” Yuto chuckles.

“You got me there.”

“See, that wasn’t too bad was it?” Yuto looks at him, standing up and stretching as they pack up their materials.

“Yeah but I mean… You helped me with a lot of it, I don't think I could do it on my own again.” he sighs, hating that he had Yuto help him again.

“It was all you, I just made it sound more professional." Yuto frowns. "I didn’t know that you’ve got a talent for planning, like I said I never would have thought of any of this.”

“Yeah right, I bet you could’ve done it given a few minutes.”

“No, I don’t think so, I can’t do this kind of idea creation. I’m better at making ideas come to life when someone gives it to me rather than create them on my own.”

It was surprising to hear Yuto admit something like that, a kind of weakness while also complimenting him, making him feel proud of himself. It seemed odd since he was a content creator on Youtube and other social media, but he didn’t get to confront him about it since he became aware that Yuto was walking towards him, his breath getting caught in his throat.

“You keep improving.” Yuto stares at him seriously, inching closer. “You’re getting better.”

At this point, he doesn’t even know if he should believe that, having been repeatedly brought down. 

“You saw how shit my work was compared to yours.” he says, remembering their small competition that felt like ages ago. But he still remembers the disappointment he felt in himself.

“That was a stupid idea and I shouldn’t have done it.” Yuto replies sheepishly. “I’m genuinely surprised that no one picked yours. I’m not lying when I said I would have, it was well made and far more creative.” Yuto continued to close in on him and Ryosuke rolled his eyes, having been in this type of situation multiple times already, preparing for whatever the taller man has to say this time.

“You’re just saying that.”

“You know, I’m becoming more and more interested in you.” Yuto breathed out, his breath tickling his neck, goosebumps rising on his skin.

What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

His knees shook as he couldn’t take his eyes off of Yuto’s no matter how hard he tried, mesmerized by his dark gaze. He feels his heart starting to speed up, a hot twisted tingle in his stomach, Daiki’s words popping into his mind.

_ “How do you know it’s anger and not love?” _

“In my work?” he hesitated, thinking back to when Yuto had first said he was interested in him.

Yuto tilted his head slightly to the side.

“Well, yes I am interested in your work.” Yuto leaned down a little more, a hand just barely touching his hip. “But that wasn’t all.”

Ryosuke gulped, clearing his throat before speaking, or more so squeaking.

“And what else?”

“Just you in general.”

He felt Yuto's breath on his lips, unconsciously parting his own as his eyes dropped lower to see Yuto's tongue dart out to wet his lips. He wanted to see that tongue again, feel it against his own.

_ I want to kiss those lips. _

The thought was dizzying, his mind melting as he felt powerless under Yuto's touch, knowing he would be the one in control. He needed  _ something _ , his eyes moving up to see Yuto's gaze down on his lips and he knows Yuto was thinking the same thing. 

It's been awhile since he's been put into a situation like this with Yuto, making him feel hot.

Hot.

Hotter than before.

And he doesn't know why.

He was just about to grab Yuto's collar to pull him in close when the taller man pulled away and Ryosuke released a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

If he was just a second quicker. 

“It’s a shame that you’re so… brash when you’re so pretty.”

“Right back at you.” Ryosuke shot back, taking him a few seconds longer to process what Yuto had just said to him as he raised an eyebrow.

“Feisty.” Yuto mumbled.

“Wait. What? You what?” Ryosuke stuttered, unable to complete a sentence.

_ Pretty _ ?

Did Nakajima Yuto, the famous hot shot celebrity that everyone loves and would die to be able to meet, just say he, Yamada Ryosuke, a normal dumb boy that he’s sure not everyone loves, was  _ pretty _ ?

"I love watching you squirm, Yamada Ryosuke."

Everything happened in a flash, leaving Ryosuke lost as he watched Yuto leave the room. Ryosuke tried his best to not think about what happened between him and Yuto, thinking that maybe it was just Yuto being weird as usual with his touchy joking.

He didn’t know why his heart was still racing at the thought of him pressed up against his body.

He didn't mind it or feel disgusted by it. 

_ “So, you like him?” _

It was the third time he’s been asked that question, the last time in his own head. 

He doesn’t know the answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you as always for reading 💕  
> Love hearing what people have to say about it 🥰
> 
> Also just a little update, at this point we're past the halfway point soo thank you for baring with me so far 😅


	11. Chapter 11

_"Thanks for watching, if you liked the video hit the like button… or the dislike button if you didn't."_

Ryosuke leans back in his chair, sighing out loud, taking his headphones off as the 30 minute long YouTube video finally finishes.

What a shitty video.

Out of all the Yuto vlogs he could have randomly chosen to challenge himself to watch, it had to be a long boring video of him talking way too fast and for too long about his collection of cameras. Apparently he had more to say but had to cut down on the video so it wasn’t long, as if 30 minutes wasn’t long enough. He could have just taken a nap instead, which would have been a better use of his time, but he stubbornly decided to watch at least one video of him where he speaks, keeping himself awake through it.

Ryosuke didn't even know there were that many different kinds and shapes of cameras out there, and the fact that Yuto owned so many. He didn't understand a single term Yuto was saying, using complicated words for the lens and different settings or whatever he was talking about, going through one ear and out the other.

Who decided to make more than one kind of camera? Just use a phone damn it, it works just fine.

It took him weeks to try to convince himself to watch one of Yuto's vlogs rather than just his drum videos where he doesn't speak, spending a whole week just thinking about sitting down and doing it. Then when he finally does, after just this one, he doesn't have the energy to watch any more, after having his own sapped by the ball of caffeine on the screen. It felt so different seeing him so hyper and talkative while he was more serious and smug in real life.

He places his head down on his desk, looking at the time tiredly after a long day at work and after watching that video.

8:00 pm.

So right now they're at the section dinner, he thinks to himself, seeing it was Thursday.

Just when he was trying to make himself feel comfortable around Yuto, he felt extra awkward during work every time Yuto came up to him, ending up skipping the dinner because he's not sure if he wants to interact with Yuto.

Especially what happened that one night a couple weeks ago.

_"I'm becoming more and more interested in you… Just you in general.”_

The words flashed through his head again, giving him a shiver. The way Yuto had breathed out those words onto his skin gave him goosebumps every time he thought about it, which was more often than he would have liked. It was just the way the taller man was basically pressed against his body feeling like nothing he had ever felt before with how the heat made him flush. He was almost intrigued by the way they seemed like they would fit together physically.

Then he also couldn’t stop thinking about being called _pretty_. Him, the average dork Yamada Ryosuke, pretty. It gave him a small boost in his confidence with his looks even if it was just another one of his teasing jokes, but it mostly made him confused.

How did that encounter have such a big effect on him? Is Yuto doing this on purpose? Is this how he normally acts around anyone? Is this flirting? Should he flirt back? Is he just desperate for affection? All his thoughts and questions were being scrambled inside his head all week, not sure what he believes anymore.

After trying to cope with Keito for a bit, he doesn’t know if he’s unconsciously leaning towards Yuto because he’s showing him attention. It was troubling since he was given an important project and Yuto is personally working closely with him on it, forcing them to meet together. Whenever they had to interact in the office he had trouble looking him in the eye because it reminded him of the intense stare. It just made it hard to focus.

Both of them aren’t acknowledging the moment between them, so perhaps it was nothing after all. He’s just overthinking everything and was tired that night. That night didn’t mean anything serious and it shouldn’t be affecting him this much because Yuto is his boss and they’re not exactly friends or anything more than that. They have a strict professional relationship and Yuto isn’t actually interested in him as a person but only his work ethics.

Yeah.

~~~

Smashing buttons is really the right way to let go of your stress and frustrations and Ryosuke will fight anyone who says otherwise. 

He was just doing some orc hunting with Yujikku the next day after his store shift, trying to get a new rare weapon drop for both himself and Yujikku, having already been playing for an hour or two.

_Yujikku: Got my orc bow!_

_Hunting with Kuru always seems to give me good luck :D_

_Kurusuke: Lucky! I swear all my luck always just goes to you… thief_

_You don’t even need a new bow!!_

_But now it’s my turn to get my sword though_

_Yujikku: I HAVE to collect them all, but we’ll get yours don’t worry we have the rest of the week for the double drop rates_

_Kurusuke: If you get the sword before me I’m going to scream_

_Which weapons have you gotten already?_

_Yujikku: Uhh I got the dagger, wand, axe, and now the bow? So missing just a couple_

_Kurusuke: And which ones have I gotten?_

_Yujikku: … Did I miss when you got one?_

_Kurusuke: …_

_Nope_

_Yujikku: I swear when I was hunting on my own earlier I didn’t get a single drop, but as soon as you come along I’m getting them_

_Kurusuke: Am I some kind of Yujik good luck charm? >< _

_Yujikku: Yeah! I’ll have to keep you in my pocket at all times now hehe_

_How tall are you?_

_Kurusuke: … About 165cm…_

_Yujikku: Really??_

_So I’m taller than you at 178cm LOL_

_You’re an actual chibiii_

_Kurusuke: SHUT UP I’LL CUT YOUR LEGS_

_Yujikku: With what??_

_Kurusuke: ONCE I GET MY ORC SWORD_

_Yujikku: LOL_

_Don’t worry I’ll give you mine if I do find a sword_

_Kurusuke: With my luck we won't even get it_

_Yujikku: We'll definitely get it no matter what!_

With a battle cry, Ryosuke continues slaying the monsters, motivated to get his weapon next. Shortly after though, Ryosuke yelps as his phone alarm goes off, telling him that it was almost time for his meeting with Yuto.

Of course it’s when things were getting fun.

_Kurusuke: Ugh, sorry I actually have to go soon and meet up with someone and I have to get ready_

_Yujikku: Ooh is it a date? ;)_

_Kurusuke: What!!_

_Shut up_

_It’s not a date_

_It's a business meeting_

_Yujikku: Ew those are the WORST._

_I wish you good luck!_

_Kurusuke: Thanks lol_

_Yujikku: Have fun on your date ;)_

_Kurusuke: IT’S NOT A DATE!!_

_Yujikku: Ahahaha I know but it's fun to say_

_Kurusuke: I’ll be back later_

_Yujikku: Alright~_

The word ‘date’ resonates through his head since he hasn’t gone on one in so long, not counting the ones that he thought were date-like with Keito. But he shakes his head at the thought, after all he’s only meeting Yuto because he's his boss and they're just working together on his project, deciding together to spend some time outside of work hours to finish it faster.

There’s nothing romantic about it.

He doesn’t even _like_ Yuto.

Right?

After a quick shower, he checks his outfit in the mirror twice, making sure he looks okay enough to go out, carefully fixing and styling his bangs after he uses a blow dryer. Then, he finally headed out to the usual room that he and Yuto reserved.

Ryosuke gets there first, a little too early, and he’s already impatient, wanting to leave and play more video games.

One minute before the time they agreed to meet, the door to the room opened and Yuto appeared, a bit of surprise on his face when he saw him sitting with his laptop already open.

“You got here earlier than me! And I’m here early!” he exclaims, covering his mouth in exaggerated surprise.

Ryosuke rolls his eyes at his joke.

“You’re my boss, you're supposed to be here before me. C’mon, Nakajima-san, let’s just get this over with.”

He was expecting the atmosphere to be awkward and serious like it was during the past week, but somehow the mood was light as they chatted for a bit before jumping into the work like he thought they would, throwing in random lame jokes that he doesn't know if he was supposed to laugh at or not. 

"Why shouldn't you write with a broken pencil?"

"... Why?"

"Because it's pointless."

"We use computers, Nakajima-san."

When Ryosuke did end up laughing at one that was overly ridiculous, Yuto just smiles at him.

“There we go, you finally laughed.” Yuto hummed. “I noticed you’ve been tense this whole week and now you seem more relaxed.”

His dumb jokes were just to make him feel better?

“Well… I guess there’s just been some… things on my mind.” Ryosuke clears his throat, not willing to tell him it was because it’s his fault in the first place with what he did that night and how it refuses to leave his mind. But he did forget some of his tenseness as Yuto talked to him like a friend. He had to keep himself from making dumb jokes back, not sure if he would offend him, keeping their professionalism.

“I don’t like seeing when you’re stressed, so make sure you rest.”

“You sound like my mom.” Ryosuke makes a face.

“What? Because I care about your mental health? It's a given.” Yuto points at him. “Besides, proficiency decreases when you’re stressed.”

Ryosuke rolls his eyes hearing that last line, but hearing Yuto’s words and jokes somehow lifted a weight off his shoulder with how genuine they sounded, and he wonders if Yuto has always been this caring and concerned. Has he just never noticed it before? He was surprised that Yuto even noticed his tenseness.

Warmth surrounded the room, Ryosuke loosening his collar a bit, curious if he was going to get scolded for being unprofessional but Yuto just blinked at him and continued talking about a radio show he was listening to earlier. The mood of the room was so far off from what it should be between a boss and worker, somehow making him comfortable, as if he were with a friend. Maybe he could tease him without being worried about the consequences.

“So, any ideas on what kinds of characters you want to add?” Yuto brings the conversation to work and Ryosuke had forgotten the reason why they were here in the first place.

It was to work on Ryosuke’s proposal for a romantic visual novel, a story about a forbidden relationship with two lovers battling in war like enemies to lovers. Not at all stemming from when he heard the words come from Yujikku.

Of course not.

"Uh yeah you know. We can make the characters do that thing people like."

"You didn't think about it, did you?"

"Nope."

“We could make this work probably?” Yuto chuckles a little, Ryosuke almost chuckling back at the sound as he watches him lean back in his seat with his arms behind his head.

They become slightly serious for a while, brainstorming ideas of different characteristics for game characters, occasionally going off topic and messing around with each other.

"Your shirt looks weird."

"Yours is hardly even buttoned, Yamada-kun."

"It's called fashion."

They had the general storyline and setting, Yuto being interested in the idea and praising it, but Ryosuke had no idea how to go on from there, Yuto guiding him. At first he didn’t want Yuto to help him, but he gave in the more he pestered him. The two usually clashed with each other but Ryosuke put his pride away, learning more about building character and setting. The awkward mood that Ryosuke had been feeling completely gone.

Yuto hands him a list of some adjectives that he could consider using to create his new characters, Ryosuke never having heard some words before in his life.

“Why do you have to use fancy words? Like gr-greg-"

“... Is gregarious a fancy word?”

“This is a game, not a dictionary. Just use “sociable” like any other normal human being."

“Am I not a normal human being?”

“Not even close.”

Yuto found ways to add in dumb humor and while Ryosuke usually would roll his eyes, he thought maybe those cheesy jokes could work to bring the mood up in the story and add life.

“I’m going to buy a drink from the vending machine, do you want anything?” Yuto gets up eventually, stretching a little.

“Ah, a coffee is fine, thank you, let me get some money.” he reaches in his bag to grab some coins when Yuto grabs his wrist, gently pulling it away from his bag.

“It’s fine, allow me to treat you, it’s not that expensive.” he smiles at him and leaves the room, leaving Ryosuke in silence by himself.

He touches the spot Yuto touched and feels a little warm, suddenly aware that he has been in a room alone with him and how the room smells a bit like him, wearing another cologne that he also owns, feeling insecure of himself of how much better it suits him.

He's not entirely sure how he feels about Yuto, having his scattered thoughts all week and now after their interaction just today making him feel like he’s known him as a friend for a while. It’s like the Chibis teasing him that he's actually going to fall for the popular boss boy the more he thinks and talks about him.

He can't even deny that he thinks Yuto is one of the prettiest boys he's ever seen in his life.

_Is it a date?_

Even Yujikku is on the whole dating train and he doesn’t even know many details! He imagines what it would be like actually dating Yuto, swallowing as he pictures doing romantic things with him, like holding hands… then kissing… then cuddling in bed and then...

Yuto returns with two cans of coffee, handing one to Ryosuke.

“Thank you, Nakajima-san.” he accepts the can, opening it while looking down and hoping that he isn’t blushing from where his imagination was beginning to take him, remembering that night once again, having Yuto’s body on his.

"You know, I've said this before, but you don’t need to be all formal with me. You can just call me Yuto if you want, that's how most people refer to me."

Ryosuke is the only one in the section that calls him ‘Nakajima-san’, taking him over three months to realize, but he never thought about changing. But now he considers it for a moment, thinking maybe using his first name would help clear his confusion.

"Okay, Yuto-kun it is."

"Then… Yama-chan!" he points at him, a goofy grin on his lips.

He winces at the cute nickname, not wanting him to use that in public or people would think weirdly of him.

"How about Yamada or Ryosuke?" he tries, raising his can to his lips. 

Yuto places a finger on his chin, thinking.

"Yama-chan is cuter." adding a wink.

Ryosuke nearly chokes on his drink, feeling his face turn red as he quickly changes his mind on the nickname. How is it possible for his name to sound so cute when he says it like that? He’s sure that Yuto didn’t mean anything but he still feels embarrassed.

After a while, they weren’t making much progress with the game, since a certain someone was completely distracted being so close to Yuto, so they decided to leave it for the day and meet up another time to finish it.

“Do you wanna go out for a quick dinner or something?” Yuto suggests as they leave, pointing to a nearby fast food place.

Ryosuke’s mind goes back to the first time they literally bumped into each other for the first time, outside of that exact fast food place. It seemed like so long ago, about four months ago, but he still remembers how he felt that day.

The day he found out he had been put in for an interview for Alpha Games by Jun without his knowledge, ending up working there for longer than he expected. Yet he doesn’t feel like he regrets it anymore, thinking that he's always despised Yuto, but today Yuto just wanted him to be less stressed and it made him feel better.

And also some other feelings he’s still trying to organize.

“Sure whatever.” he looks away to hide his blush.

They walk in together, ordering and paying separately, even though Yuto offered to treat him, yet somehow ordering the exact same thing, the same cheeseburger and fries, laughing over it as they sit down together and chat. At first they spoke about work, but the conversation quickly changed to their hobbies, something they never got to discuss before.

“You really took these?” Ryosuke clicks through Yuto’s fancy camera, surprised at the amazing quality of all of them with the lighting and angles. “How? They look so professional!”

A phone camera can't compare to these.

Yuto laughs, embarrassed as he scratches the back of his neck.

“You think so? Thanks, I always have my camera with me to capture moments I don’t want to forget.” he prys the camera away from his hands. "Also in case I want to vlog."

“I never noticed that you had it with you ever.” Ryosuke laughs, forgetting that he does YouTube on occasion.

“I take photos as part of my living, you know. I have a ton of cameras at my home.” Yuto points to the screen, displaying settings. “This camera in particular has good exposure and can-”

“Yeah yeah, you love cameras I get it.” Ryosuke interrupts him before Yuto gets into a 30 minute monologue about cameras. He doesn’t want to go through that again.

Yuto apologizes with a soft laugh, looking through the photos. Ryosuke hums, picking up some fries from his plate, placing them in his mouth and savoring the warmth and saltiness of the potatoes as he chews.

_Click._

Ryosuke’s attention snapped to Yuto pointing his camera at him, grinning as he peeks at him, making eye contact.

“Did you just? I probably look terrible.” Ryosuke places his hands on his cheeks, feeling them heat up as he thinks about how bad the photo Yuto just took of him is.

Yuto eyed the photo he took, frowning slightly.

“Oh no…” Yuto mumbles.

Ryosuke looks down, feeling insecure of himself, he has never been fully satisfied with his looks and he didn’t want to hear it from someone so much prettier.

“You look breathtaking.”

What?

Ryosuke looks back up at Yuto, the other boy staring at his camera with wide eyes and his mouth in the shape of an 'o', presumably at his photo.

“What are you talking about? Let me see…” Ryosuke scoots over next to him to look at the photo, close enough to feel some of his body heat and smell the cologne he was wearing again.

The photo wasn’t what he expected.

It was just of him eating a fry, but he didn’t realize how much bliss he was experiencing as he did. His eyes were closed, his fingers close to the slight smile on his lips, with his cheeks a soft pink that glowed in the light, his shoulders raised slightly. Even his hair looked okay, despite it being a little tousled by the wind.

Call him narcissistic for a moment, but Ryosuke did feel a bit pretty in that photo.

“See? Isn’t it a good photo?” Yuto exclaims. “How do you look so happy even just eating fries? Can I post this on my Instagram?” he turns to face him, their faces just mere inches apart.

“What? I uh...” his brain short circuits, unsure of what to say as he stared back into Yuto’s wide, sparkling eyes.

He almost instinctively leans forward, but Yuto laughs as he moves away, placing his focus on his food.

“I’d love to take more photos of you someday, you would make a really good model.” Yuto adds, taking a bite out of his cheeseburger.

Him, a model? No way. 

“Oh, yeah, that sounds… fun.” Ryosuke says absentmindedly, imagining being the center of attention with Yuto in charge of a photo shoot. He wonders what Yuto could do to make him look as pretty as he felt in that impulsive photo with no planning.

“I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, it was just an idea I was thinking of.” Yuto says sheepishly.

“No no! I just… I’m just surprised that’s all. There’s so many other people who would be better models than me.”

Yuto blinks at him.

“Yama-chan, you’d make a great model. I’ve always thought about it, but after this photo I’m sure of it.”

“Thank you… maybe I’ll take you up on that offer then…” he couldn’t help but smile, seeing Yuto’s eyes light up as he said he would consider it.

“Really?? I’m super excited, I have this whole outfit that I know will look good on you…”

Ryosuke sits back while Yuto babbles on about photography, enjoying how fast and how long he talked, despite not understanding some of the terms he was using. It felt like he was watching his video about his cameras, but hearing it in person felt so much more lively, seeing his excitement go with his quick words. He regrets stopping his talk about his cameras earlier, letting him ramble on this time. He chest filled with some kind of emotion he can’t place his finger on, not minding listening to him with that smooth voice.

It was kinda… Cute. 

His plans and explanations sound so detailed that it felt like he had already put so much thought into them previously.

Wait.

He said he has always thought he would make a good model? And he’s put thought into it already?

“Oh look at the time! Sorry I’ve kept you for so long, Yama-chan. We should head out.” Yuto says, looking at the time. "I must have been wasting your time with my annoying rambling."

Ryosuke sees the way Yuto swallows and it made him feel bad again for interrupting.

"No you weren't annoying at all, you can talk to me about your cameras any day, any time."

What is he thinking? What if Yuto talks to him for another hour about cameras?

"Okay!" Yuto beams, and Ryosuke's heart clenches, thinking maybe once in awhile won't be too bad.

“I suppose we should head out.” Ryosuke continues, his shoulders slumping. When they met earlier, Ryosuke wanted to head home as soon as he could, but now that has reversed and he wanted to stay longer with Yuto.

He doesn’t know how his thoughts switched so easily or what’s wrong with him and his heart speeding up.

_“How do you know it’s anger and not love?”_

“Wanna meet again tomorrow to finish what we didn't get to today? I’ll text you the times I’m available.” Yuto suggests as they part ways.

“Sounds great!” he replies as they wave goodbye to each other. He watches Yuto start to walk away when he feels an urge to call out to him.

“Ah, Naka- Yuto-kun!” the name slips out before he could stop himself.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Yuto turns back to face him, an innocent questioning look on his face.

"Um… I was wondering if…" he looked up to see Yuto focused on him, his head cutely tilted to the side, making his face heat up. “If you wanted to meet up again tomorrow?” he mentally slaps himself, panicking and simply repeating their plan to meet again.

What’s wrong with him today? Ryosuke definitely wasn’t feeling like himself.

Yuto blinks at him a couple times.

“Yeah, we should do that.” Yuto starts walking towards him. “You’ve been distracted all night, Yama-chan, are you unwell? Your face keeps getting flushed.” His face contorted with concern, placing the back of his hand on his forehead. “Oh goodness, you’re warm! Do you have a fever? Are you resting well? Eating well? Do you need medicine?” he exclaims.

“O-oh, I’m fine, really... I’ll try my best! I’ll see you later, Yuto-kun, have a good night.” Ryosuke swats at the hand and backed away, waving at him, seeing that they lived in opposite directions, quickly turning on his heels to rush away.

Does he have a fever? He panics, not wanting to get sick and end up missing work, he can’t afford to. When he gets home, he takes his temperature using a thermometer, finding his internal temperature is normal. Yet he still felt so hot.

He slumps back into his chair, mindlessly gazing up at the ceiling uncertain on what to do. He feels confused about Yuto and is unsure what it is that he wants from him. He still wants to hate him but he's also happy to just be friends, even though he doesn’t know if they’re even considered friends yet, or still boss and worker, but at the same time he still does want something more.

The photo Yuto took of him popped into his mind and how he called him breathtaking, how their faces ended up so close to each other that they could have easily kissed again.

Kissed? Does he regret not kissing him?

_Again_?

“Fuck. Is this a crush?” he groans, hitting his head on his desk. “No it's not, I do not have time for this.”

It's not possible for him to actually catch feelings for Yuto. He doesn’t know if he should try distancing himself or try to get closer to Yuto, leaning towards distancing himself despite having work with him so he doesn’t fall deeper into this hole. All he wants is to be competitive workers with him, not lovers. He needs to keep a professional relationship like he has for the past few months.

Easy.

For some reason he feels like he needs to tell Yujikku how the night went, even before the Chibis group chat, opening up his discord.

_Kurusuke: Hey I’m back 😀_

_Yujikku: Welcome back! Good timing since I also returned recently 😂🤣_

_So, how did the date- I mean meeting go?_

_Kurusuke: It went fine, I think…_

_Yujikku: That doesn't sound confident, what happened?_

_Kurusuke: Ugh_

_It's just_

_I hate him_

_Yujikku: Someone you don't get along with?_

_Kurusuke: It's not really that? I mean… idk_

_It's complicated you know?_

_We're not friends I think and I don't know if I want to be friends with him or keep a professional relationship_

_Yujikku: C’mon, show him your confident self like you show me on Jump Party 😎_

_I’m happy we’re friends, so I’m sure whoever it is is missing out on not being your friend 😉_

_Kurusuke: Lol we’ve been friends for how long now? 4ish months? 😂_

_Yujikku: Around there I guess?_

_It’s been a great time playing Jump Party with you Kuru 💙_

_Kurusuke: Yeah, looking forward to more dungeons and other games with you ❤️_

_Yujikku: 🥰_

_Oh right, speaking of Jump Party, are you going to log on?_

_I have a surprise for you ;)_

_Kurusuke: That sounds ominous… 😨_

_Yujikku: 😉_

Ryosuke has no other choice than to log on, a trade request from Yujikku popping up almost immediately. He accepts and they’re brought to the trading screen, waiting for whatever surprise Yujikku has for him. 

_Yujikku: Tada~_

Ryosuke’s eyes widen as he sees the new orc sword they were trying to get earlier.

_Kurusuke: What!! You got this for me??_

_Yujikku: After you left, I had a bit of extra time so I kept hunting for a bit and it dropped pretty quickly!_

_Kurusuke: You lucky bastard I don’t know if I should hate you or love you_

_Yujikku: Both?_

_I even upgraded it up a bit for you_

_Kurusuke: I can’t just accept something like this without giving something back_

_How much silver do you want?_

_Yujikku: Kuru it’s fine_

_Allow me to treat you, it’s not that expensive_

_You already know I like giving presents to people I like_

_And I like you._

Seeing those words on his screen made his heart jump, grateful that someone like Yujikku likes him. Yujikku treating him made him think about Yuto treating him with the coffee and the offer to pay for his dinner. He's lucky the two of them can be so nice to him.

After the trade was completed, Ryosuke equipped the sword right away, seeing his power increase by a great amount, swinging it around and using a couple of skills to see how flashy it looks.

_Kurusuke: This is awesome!!_

_Okay yeah I love you_

_Thank you so much Yujik!! :D_

_Yujikku: No problem!!_

_Anything for you, Kuru :)_

He doesn’t know if him being flustered is because of the kind act that Yujikku just did and said, or because he was still thinking of the night with Yuto.

It had to be because of his night with Yuto, there’s no way he would feel flustered over someone he knew from pixels.

Yet at the same time, that thought made him even more confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you as always for reading 🥰


	12. Chapter 12

Yuto pinches the bridge of his nose as he returns late at night once again, trying to finish a couple leftover projects that needed to be checked. The moment he walks through his door, his phone rings, blinking at the name for a couple of seconds.

"Hey Hika what's up?" he responds cherrily, undoing his tie to get more comfortable.

" _Hey Yuto! How’d that work go?_ "

"Got it done somehow.” he replies, leaning his phone on his shoulder as he takes painkillers for his head. “Just got back.”

" _This late? Are you overworking yourself again?_ " concern drips from his voice. 

"Hika, I'm not overworking myself, relax."

" _You liar. I know you, Yuto._ " Hikaru says sternly. " _We've been friends for how many years now?_ "

"Several." Yuto sighs.

" _Exactly! Now… huh? Wait what are-"_

Yuto smiles a little, hearing a little bit of shuffling on the other end. But it disappears when a new voice is heard. 

" _What do you mean you're overworking yourself, Yuto?"_

Yuto winces at the sharp tone. 

"Yabu, don't worry about it I'm fine." he fixes his posture, forgetting he wasn’t actually in front of the elder.

 _"No you're not._ " Yabu replies without missing a beat. " _You sound exhausted. Get some rest. Now._ "

"But we have raid tonight-"

" _Not you. Yujikku is benched tonight, no buts._ "

"Yabu I-"

" _Leader Yabunbun’s order._ "

Yuto purses his lips. It comes to this often, Yabu telling him that he shouldn't stress himself more with focusing on Jump Party raids for a night as a break, knowing they often take hours of attention.

" _Yuto, we can play and hunt some boars later, okay?_ " Yabu's voice continues, much softer. " _But after you get a little bit of rest, just a little. Please?"_

He knows that Yabu just cares for him.

"Okay got it, I'll take a quick nap." Yuto gives in.

" _Good. I'll talk to you later, then?"_

“Yeah I-”

_"You better rest Yuto or I won’t heal you when you’re dying next time!"_

_"Hika don't yell in my ear."_

_"I need Yuto to hear me."_

_"Yeah but you-"_

"Alright I'm hanging up." Yuto interrupts their banter.

Damn couple.

Yuto drags himself to the door of his bedroom, catching sight of his gaming computer in the room next door. He’s tempted, exhausted and he hears his bed calling for him, but his fingers twitch, wanting to play a game.

A little bit of games can’t hurt.

He sits in his gaming chair, sinking into the comforts and he instantly feels a burst of energy. Games always gave him the energy he needed.

He was just about to click the icon for Jump Party when he remembers that Yabu will personally hunt him down if he catches him online instead of resting like he promised. Maybe he should just play a single player game. Or he could ask one of his other friends.

As if on cue, he gets a message on discord.

_Kurusuke: Yuuuujikk are you available?_

Yuto instantly grins, hands typing before he could think.

_Yujikku: I was just thinking of messaging you_

Kurusuke has been one of his closer online friends, enjoying playing all kinds of games with him, even games that he wouldn’t have imagined buying and playing, participating in all sorts of cooperative games.

_Kurusuke: Really?_

_I wanted to ask if you wanted to play some Star Wars with me?_

_Yujikku: You really like that game now don’t you lol_

_Kurusuke: It’s your fault for getting me into Star Wars_

_Yujikku: When do you want to marathon the movies again?_

_Kurusuke: Again?!?!?_

_Uhhhh_

_This weekend?_

_Yujikku: I’m down!_

They’ve been exchanging recommendations for music, movies and games lately, enjoying getting a glimpse into Kurusuke’s life outside of Jump Party. He never feels tired talking to him, wondering how he’s like in person, wondering if he changes his personality like he does online.

Even though Yabu told him to rest, his eyes don’t want to shut as he gets into the Star Wars game with Kurusuke, teaming up like partners in crime, facing any challenge the enemies throw.

He hopes he can find someone like Kurusuke in real life, someone that he can reach for his dreams together while having fun playing games together, someone who he can laugh with and be himself with, someone to mutually support each other.

A particular person pops into his head with that thought that maybe he’s already met that person he wants so desperately, having been talking to him more as well, but he isn’t so certain.

But now that that person is once again stuck in his mind even though he’s trying not to think about work, there’s something about that person that feels somewhat familiar to him when he was texting him earlier. Something about the way he types and the vocabulary he uses. Like he's been talking to him like him somewhere else.  


_ Kurusuke: Dude how did you die like that?! _

_ We need to do this perfectly and win _

He just needs to absorb himself in games for now, losing track of reality.

~~~

"Yama-chaaan?"

Ryosuke snaps up, realizing his name was being called, having zoned out during his lunch break. He was sitting at a small table, looking around and noticing there were only a couple people left in the room, no longer busy like before he started to daydream. There is one person sitting across from him, waving a hand in front of his face to get his attention.

“Yes, Yuto-kun?”

"Finally." Yuto frowns. "You’ve been distracted again. I've been saying Yama-chan for at least a solid minute. Were you even listening to anything I was saying?"

"What? This is my break, I just wanted to sit and enjoy my lunch, not work." Ryosuke protested, taking a bite of one of his rolled eggs from his homemade bento box.

…It’s cold now.

"You sat down with me first."

Oh yeah.

"I didn't see you here, I just sat down randomly."

"You said hi to me."

"I was just saying hi to… someone else."

"Is there another Yuto-kun I don't know of?" Yuto gasped, covering his mouth. “I’d love to meet him.”

Ryosuke tried to continue to feign his innocence, but gave up, admitting he got distracted and wasn’t listening. He doesn’t remember ever seeing Yuto in the break room before, starting to notice his presence more, not that he ever looked for him, so he was surprised and ended up sitting across from him, expecting to talk about work. Except Yuto started casually spouting nonsense about some game show he saw on tv before work and Ryosuke ended up tuning him out, getting lost in his thoughts.

After another two week of working with him on his personal project, and dealing with his lame jokes each day, they made progress, gradually getting closer to each other both professionally and as friends. Which Ryosuke never would have imagined happening.

Yuto managed to get him to say some of his many game ideas that he has always thought were dumb but Yuto ate them up, encouraging him to talk more. It was awkward at first, but seeing how Yuto nodded and listened to him as he took notes gave him more confidence, telling him that he was interested in what he was saying and his creativity. He’s never talked to anyone about some of his ideas but it felt good to have someone else’s opinions on them.

They started to text each other more, mostly related to work, but then the topic would change to their hobbies, especially music. Though when he asked for recommendations, he’s heard most of them already, having gotten them from Yujikku already, but thanking him nonetheless.

Ryosuke feels like the two would get along together.

"Anyways, what I've been trying to ask you," Yuto continues. "Who made that cute bento?" he points to Ryosuke's box.

"This? I made it myself." Ryosuke replied smugly, eating his rice.

"Really? You did?" Yuto jumped from his seat, Ryosuke flinching. "You cooked it yourself and packed it all?"

"Yes?"

Yuto's eyes were sparkling, not surprising as it was clear that he was eating a store bought bento. It was amusing, remembering that Keito had told him Yuto isn’t great at cooking.

One day he’ll have to show off his skills in the kitchen to him just to see his jaw drop.

"Can I try some?"

"No." Ryosuke pulled his lunch away as Yuto reached over, trying not to giggle at his totally not cute pout. If he was going to cook for Yuto, he wanted it to be a tasty, proper meal to make a good first impression.

"One bite?"

"Nope."

"Just one? Pleaseee Yama-chan?"

"Puppy eyes don't work against me, Yuto-kun." Ryosuke says as he focuses his attention on the calendar behind Yuto.

"Fine." Yuto stood up, still pouting. "It's almost time to get back to work anyways."

"What? But I haven't finished my lunch!"

"If someone wasn't so spaced out maybe he would have had more time to eat."

Ryosuke shovels the rest of his lunch into his mouth, swallowing what he can as Yuto leaves laughing. He was still cleaning up when he heard a conversation between two of his coworkers outside the room, stopping to listen.

"Was Yuto actually using his lunch break with Yamada-kun?"

"I don't believe it. I don't know why Yuto is so nice to him when they butt heads all the time."

"Right? It's obvious that he's Yuto's favorite."

"It's not fair, we’ve been working longer and harder than Yamada-kun, he doesn’t deserve special treatment."

Ryosuke walked out the break room, coughing loud enough so his two coworkers turned his way, gasping. They quickly greeted each other before the two rushed away back to their space. 

Yuto's favorite? Why? He remembers how Yuto’s fangirls had also mentioned that Yuto clearly likes him.

What special treatment are they even talking about?

He shrugs it off, having no idea what it could be about, heading back to his desk. When he gets there, he makes eye contact with Yuto, who waved at him with a grin. He stuck his hand in the air awkwardly with a nod, taking a seat.

Does Yuto normally wave to others?

In the end, he couldn’t stop thinking about what special treatment Yuto is giving him, if any. He supposes that Yuto has been talking to him more both during and outside of work, through texting, but he’s pretty sure he does that to everyone. Besides, it’s mostly for work purposes… usually.

As Ryosuke finishes his work, he’s pleased that he finished early for once. That hardly ever happens, usually either pressed for time or having to leave some for later. Apparently he has a good knack for creating ideas and planning, according to Yuto, his work adjusting to that. He didn’t think he would enjoy doing it so much, having expected to be working more on the development process.

As Ryosuke was packing up to leave, he glanced at Yuto, doing work as always. Everyone else was also starting to leave, chatting about their plans before the section dinner tonight, seeing it was Thursday.

He takes his sweet time, saying goodbye to everyone as they leave, the place slowly getting emptier and emptier… until it was just the two of them left. 

"You're still here, Yama-chan?" Yuto calls over, peeking over his computer. "You're usually one of the first ones to leave."

"Uh, yeah. Am I?" he's usually in a rush to leave to go home as soon as he can clock out, but he didn't think it was that obvious enough to notice.

"Yeah." Yuto had his attention back on his computer, typing. "I guess that makes us opposites since I'm usually the last to leave."

"Do you always do overtime?" Ryosuke questioned, wondering when Yuto leaves everyday.

"Just about." Yuto replied, finally looking at him. "You finished your assignments today, right? So you're free to leave."

"What are you working on?" He ignores what Yuto said, curious about what kind of work Yuto does when everyone is gone.

“Right now?” Yuto shakes a packet of papers. “I’m testing this game for bugs and re-coding them when necessary. A bit easier when everything is less chaotic with others around.”

“That sounds fun, why can’t I do that too?” Ryosuke pouts, wanting to beta test games too.

Yuto turns to him, smirking.

“You think you could do this, Yamada?”

It’s been awhile since Yuto used that challenging tone on him, but this time he isn’t going to take the bait and let out his competitiveness.

“After what I went through previously, yes.” Ryosuke says confidently, rolling his sleeves up. "Give me some of your work and I'll show you." he holds out his hand.

He took the bait.

But Yuto’s tone didn’t seem to be condescending like how it used to be... wondering if it was ever condescending in the first place. He shakes his head, wanting to prove to Yuto he can handle it since he’s fixed errors in coding before and he would be able to play games. It would be win-win for him even if it’s considered work. Other than having to be in the same room alone with Yuto, he could handle that if it’s for games.

"I'm not giving you work when you're supposed to be off." Yuto replies, frowning.

"I don't care, you're also supposed to be off."

“But-”

“Consider this thanks for helping me on my project these last couple weeks, okay?”

And for being a good listener.

It only took an hour of quietly working to finish up everything between the two of them, leaving them another hour before they had to go to dinner. It wasn’t as bad to help Yuto with his work like Ryosuke thought it would be, feeling pleased with himself by the end. Yuto had helped him when he was feeling stressed, so it felt good that he may have helped with Yuto's stress, feeling like he should care more about his boss’s well being as well.

Ryosuke sat on a bench, waiting for Yuto after he told him he'd buy him a drink, which Ryosuke tried arguing that he would buy his own but got shut down quickly.

"Thanks, Yama-chan." Yuto says sheepishly when he returns, taking a seat next to him and handing him some juice. "You helped out a lot."

"No problem." Ryosuke replies, accepting the drink, feeling more tired after having to work an extra hour. He would normally be playing a game at home or talking to his friends as a break, never having expected he would willingly decide to work more.

“I don’t normally have much of a break at this time.”

“Why do you always have so much extra work just because you’re the boss here?” Ryosuke questioned genuinely. It seemed unfair that Yuto has to stay for overtime each day.

“Theoretically, I should be able to finish everything given to me on time.” Yuto answers, sipping his own drink. “But I get caught up helping everyone else with their stuff throughout the day that I don’t have enough time for my own work.”

Ryosuke hums, realizing that Yuto is often running back and forth and talking and helping others all day, even him.

“You’re too nice, Yuto-kun.”

The words slipped out before he could think, coughing after he said it. He’s not sure when he started thinking that, but since he's been talking to Yuto more he seems more… normal. They share some interests and he’s no longer uncomfortable around him, other than when he’s rambling for far too long but he could just tune him out.

“You think so?” Yuto raises an eyebrow. “Never thought I would hear those words from you.”

“Yeah.” Ryosuke looked away, embarrassed. “Anyways, if you have a ton of work leftover, let me know if I can help again to reduce it. As thanks.”

“I'll keep that in mind then, thank you." Yuto smiled. "You once again showed me that you’re improving, I’m impressed with you, Yamada Ryosuke.”

“Really?” Ryosuke was taken aback at the compliment.

Yuto, impressed with him?

“It’s just as I thought, you learn quickly when pressured.” Yuto mumbled, letting out a yawn.

“But how is that possible?” Ryosuke puzzled, staring at the wall. Is that him being genuine? “So does that mean that I’m at your standards-” he was cut off as he felt something heavy hit his shoulder. “Ow, what-”

He looked over, relaxing as he realized Yuto’s head was on his shoulder, his eyes closed.

“Just for a bit.” Yuto breathed out.

“Yuto-kun I have to…” he tries to make an excuse but couldn’t think of one, his brain panicking with Yuto on him, touching him, but he gives up, just letting Yuto lie on him, considering he must be exhausted as his breathing slows down with him dozing off.

Ryosuke's surprised that he’s actually okay with the contact, calming down after a few moments. Usually the idea of Yuto messing with him, especially his hair, bothers him, but it felt strangely right to have him next to him like this. It was warm and comfortable, with Yuto’s weight on his side.

There was no way he could take his phone out of his pocket to waste time on a mobile game, afraid that if he moved he would wake up Yuto.

He’s just going to have to wait a bit before waking him up.

After being bored of staring at the blank ceiling for a few minutes, he turns his head towards Yuto, fast asleep already, breathing steadily on him. He wonders if he should wake him up soon, but he uses this time to study him, noticing again how pretty he is. Being this close made him notice his long eyelashes, his nose... his lips. They looked slightly chapped, swallowing as they parted slightly as he breathed, noticing a light scar. He's been thinking about those lips more and more lately, curious in how they feel.

He has to shake his head before he gets ahead of himself.

Yuto has eye bags, probably from working all the time and not getting enough rest, mostly covered up with makeup, not surprised to find out that he does his makeup considering he’s a social influencer and has to always think about looking good in public. It must be troubling and stressful for him to always be worried about appearances.

This was a different view of Yuto, looking calm and soft compared to how he usually envisions him and he wishes he could see this cute, gentle side of him more.

It does make him look prettier.

He lets out a yawn of his own, not sure where his thoughts were going, feeling his own exhaustion wash over him after watching Yuto sleep for a bit, letting his head rest on Yuto’s head. His soft hair was tickling his cheek, but it was nice, nuzzling softly against him.

Before he knows it, he ends up falling asleep too.

“-chan!”

“Huh?” Ryosuke opens his eyes as he’s being shaken awake, taking a few moments to realize that it was Yuto. “What are you doing in my house?” he yawns, wanting to go back to sleep, trying to get comfortable, but he was sitting up and not lying down on his soft bed, his neck stiff.

“We’re going to be late!” Yuto exclaimed. “It’s almost 7:00!”

“And?” Ryosuke squints at him, his eyes adjusting to the light as he rubs his neck.

“The section dinner!”

Oh.

“How the fuck did we sleep for a whole hour?” Ryosuke gasped as the two rushed to the restaurant, Yuto breaking the speed limits as he drives them.

“How did you fall asleep?” Yuto shot back. “I thought you were going to wake me up in about 15 minutes!”

“You never said that!” Ryosuke deflected. “I was tired too!”

The two barely made it on time as they bickered the whole ride, being the last ones there.

“Oh there’s Yuto and Yamada-kun.” One of their coworkers looked them both up and down as they entered the restaurant. “You’re both out of breath and looking a little disheveled?” she gasped, pulling Ryosuke to the side as Yuto heads off to greet everyone else, lowering her voice. “Did something between you two… happen?”

“Nothing serious happened, we just ended up falling asleep together so we had to rush over.” Ryosuke explained, trying to pry her off while catching his breath.

“I knew it!” the coworker smirked, elbowing his side. “I’m jealous Yamada-kun, didn’t think you had it in you.” she giggled.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, confused. “Had what in me?”

“You know, sleeping together.”

“What’s wrong with sleeping toget- WAIT.” it clicks in Ryosuke’s head. “It’s not what you think! Y-Yuto-kun was tired so he fell asleep on my shoulder and then I fell asleep too.” he frantically explained, his face heating up.

He would die if it got around that he slept with Yuto, causing misunderstandings since all that happened was they took a nap next to each other. The image of the two of them sleeping together-

“That’s it?” her face looked disappointed. “Have you thought about it?”

“NO!” Ryosuke exclaims, face palming himself. “We should go sit.” he tries ushering her over so she doesn’t start questioning him more, relieved when no more questions were asked.

Throughout the dinner, Ryosuke was zoned out, sipping his drink while watching people talk, tuning out what they were saying. Thankfully no one was talking to him directly. He was trying to limit himself tonight, but he got buzzed anyways, feeling warm inside and his thoughts flowing freely.

Not sure of how much time passed, he didn’t realize he was idly staring at someone sitting across the large table for a while now, far enough to be unable to hear what he was saying but enough to be able to trace his features with his eyes.

The line of moles down his face to his sharp jawline and the way he smiled as he talked to the multiple people around him. How he laughed, covering his mouth or clapping his hands. Tucking his dark hair behind his ears or pushing his bangs away from his eyes. Pretty eyes glittering in the light.

Before he knew it, those eyes found his, the owner’s head tilting slightly as his mouth stopped moving. The two maintain eye contact for a few seconds before the other man makes a dumb face at him.

Two can play that game.

After a while of making faces at each other, Ryosuke ends up bursting out laughing, not caring that the others around him were questioning him, not paying them any attention.

The other man mouths something at him, not entirely sure but he thinks it’s something like “are you okay?”

He mouths back slowly that he’s pretty happy right now, and the tall man grins, mouthing something else and he replies by mouthing back words.

The two were lost in their own world as they continued their silent conversation from across the table, somehow understanding the other even though they can’t hear each other.

_~~~_

_Kurusuke: Give me one good reason this isn’t a good idea_

_Yujikku: We’ll die Kuru_

_Kurusuke: We won’t know until we try >:( _

_Yujikku: I tried duoing it with Yuyaseba and we failed_

_Kurusuke: But that’s Yuyaseba not me_

_Yujikku: You’re weaker_

_Kurusuke: I_

_You got me there_

Ryosuke scrolls through his friends list, trying to invite people to fight the tree stump to get a special item drop for a helmet he wants to craft, but most people found it to be a waste of time for how difficult the boss is and the small rewards for defeating it. The only person that had responded to him was Yujikku, surprised that he was even online at this time.

It didn’t help that it was 5 in the morning.

_Kurusuke: But I want to do it_

_Is there anyone else you know that’s on that can join?_

_Yujikku: I tried asking but there’s not many people on at this time_

_Kurusuke: Damn it_

_Sleep is for the weak_

He was definitely tired, almost feeling drunk from sleep deprivation, but he didn’t have anything to do the next day since it was his free day, so he figured he would just sleep the day away tomorrow and stay up through the night playing video games. He did try to sleep, but all he could remember was how Yuto had slept on his shoulder the other day, unable to stop thinking about how it felt to have his warmth next to him and how relaxed he felt. It was the best nap he's taken even with the awkward position.

Hopefully Yuto is getting some well deserved rest right now.

Maybe another reason he was up this late was he just wanted to play more games with Yujikku, enjoying his company more and more, finally having more time to spend with him over the last couple days. It was a good way to distract himself from Yuto.

_Yujikku: Right?_

_If I didn’t chug all that coffee earlier I wouldn’t even be up at this time_

_Kurusuke: Share some please_

_Yujikku: Yeah let me just mail some over tell me your address lol_

_Kurusuke: 123 no street_

_Yujikku: Damn I thought it would work_

_Kurusuke: WHY WOULD I ACTUALLY TELL YOU_

_Yujikku: What if I want to meet you in person?_

_Jk_

_Unless…?_

_Kurusuke: Omg I_

_I’m_

He’s always wondered how it would be like meeting Yujikku in person, wondering if he was similar to his online personality. He likes Yujikku enough to want to meet him in person, though he was also just content with just privately messaging him through Jump Party and discord.

_Yujikku: I don't know what you sound like or look like but wouldn't it be fun if we met up not knowing?_

_Kurusuke: That would be pretty cool... you're not some old guy right?_

_Yujikku: I swear I'm in my twenties! You said that too right?_

_Kurusuke: Yeah_

_What would we even do if we met in person?? Play games?_

_Yujikku: That’s what my guild mates and I do lmao_

_Kurusuke: Same with the Chibis and I_

_What if we went shopping together idk??_

_Yujikku: Or we can go out and eat lots of yummy foods_

_Kurusuke: I can cook?_

_Yujikku: :OOO_

_Imagine if we had a Jump Party group cookout?!?! Both Kemono and Chibis_

_Kurusuke: I hardly even know your guildmates_

_Yujikku: You’re always free to join us for raids_

_Kurusuke: I don’t want to intrude??_

_Yujikku: Yabunbun has been asking me where “my small friend” is_

_Kurusuke: He refers to me as your small friend?!?!_

_I’M NOT SMALL???_

_Yujikku: Your guild name is literally Chibis_

_Kurusuke: SHUT IT BEANSTALK_

_Yujikku: I’M A WHAT YOU TATOR TOT_

Ever since Ryosuke told him his height Yujikku has been making more chibi jokes but he has also been making tall jokes. Their characters resembled their height difference, but he’s curious how it would feel to stand next to him in person. He had made the Chibis guild as a joke when he and the other two first started the guild, but they found out they couldn’t change it without spending millions of in-game money, so it stuck.

_Kurusuke: WHATEVER MOUNTAIN_

_You know who else is tall? My boss and I hate it_

_Yujikku: OKAY ANT_

_Is this going to be another one of “Kuru’s boss rants” do it_

_Kurusuke: Would you believe I’m actually starting to LIKE the guy????_

_Yujikku: WHAT_

_CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT :O_

_Tell me more_

_Kurusuke: Well... we’ve been spending more time together over the past month, especially since I have a project that he’s overseeing so I’m starting to notice his good points and I’M ANNOYED_

_I can’t believe he actually has a nice personality with his prettiness_

_Yujikku: You keep saying how pretty he is, how pretty are we talking?_

_Kurusuke: Like_

_Hollywood pretty_

_132673/10 pretty_

_ICouldStareAtHimForever pretty_

_Yujikku: Okay okay I get it lol_

_Kurusuke: IKindOfWantToTakeHimHome pretty_

_Oh_

_Yujikku: Oh_

_Why don’t you_

Ryosuke was too tired at this point, hardly even thinking about what he was typing as his sleep deprived brain screamed at him to go to bed, but he felt like ranting about Yuto to this person that he only knows through a computer screen. He’ll probably forget all of this when he wakes up in the morning anyways.

_Kurusuke: I told you_

_I hate the guy_

_Okay maybe I don’t_

_But I do_

_Yujikku: What does that even mean_

_Kurusuke: Going to be honest, I have no fucking clue but let's see…_

_I hate that he always has people surrounding him_

_I hate that everyone likes him_

_I hate that he’s always so helpful to me and others_

_I hate that he can be adorable at times_

_I hate that my heart does these stupid flips for him_

_ASFGAHGVAJBKAFSGS_

Ever since he started thinking about Yuto in a different way, he realizes that Yuto isn’t what he thought he was at first. He keeps trying to find reasons to dislike him but there’s nothing wrong. The fangirls even stopped harassing him, probably after Yuto actually spoke to them to stop, and it pisses him off that Yuto had to be the one to solve his problem so easily.

_Yujikku: Uh_

_So you have a crush_

Ryosuke freezes in place. Wait. No. What the fuck. He does not have a crush. No. He repeats to himself. He's been suspecting it, but he refuses to believe it.

_Kurusuke: I_

_How_

_No_

_What_

_Yujikku: All those things you listed that you hate sound like compliments?_

_You literally just said your heart does flips for him_

_Kurusuke: No I didn’t_

He hears a beep from discord, letting him know someone sent him a message. He minimizes Jump Party to take a look, looking at a screenshot of his earlier text from Yujikku.

_Kurusuke: Fuck off_

_Yujikku: You said it not me_

_Kurusuke: Okay so_

_Let's just imagine for a second_

_IF I did have a crush- which I DON’T- how should I talk to him_

_Yujikku: ???_

_How should I know_

_Kurusuke: Just_

_Help me Yujik aren’t you good at this stuff_

_Yujikku: Where the hell did that come from_

_Idk invite him out?_

_Kurusuke: That’s too bold_

_Yujikku: Coward_

_Kurusuke: HEY_

_I_

_I’m not a coward_

_Yujikku: You have more meetings together to work right? Ask him out to dinner after you guys finish your work_

_Kurusuke: Okay_

_I’ll do that_

_I’ll ask him out for dinner after work_

_Yujikku: Like a date_

_Kurusuke: No???_

_Ew_

_A date?_

_With HIM?_

_But…_

_Yujikku: But? What’s holding you back?_

_Kurusuke: I am so not confident enough for that_

_Yujikku: Aw c'mon where's the confident Kuru I know?_

_Kurusuke: Shut up_

_Yujikku: ;)_

_Let me know how it goes, hope you have fun~_

_Kurusuke: Whatever_

_I’m going to bed_

Ryosuke felt too embarrassed to talk more about Yuto, wanting him out of his brain.

_Yujikku: Okay weak one_

_Kurusuke: Yujik don’t do this to me_

_I am a fragile being right now_

_Yujikku: Goodnight Kuru good luck with your love c: <3 _

_Kurusuke: …………_

_Goodnight Yujik_

He closes the game and shuts his computer, crawling into his bed and pulling his phone out, the light illuminating his face. It was still fairly dark out but the sun should be rising soon, soon to be lighting up his room.

Yuto.

It's been how many months since they started working together? Nearly half a year? He hates to admit that his hatred for the taller boy has been fading with each time they've met up. 

He thinks back to the last time they met, it was a short time since Yuto had to meet with someone else, but he found himself wanting to be with him more even if they were stuck doing work. As they left the work room, Ryosuke was going to ask if he wanted to have a quick dinner together again but he apparently had plans with a girl who was waiting for them to finish. 

For some reason, it seemed like Yuto didn't want to go with her, looking at him to help him out of it, but he couldn't think of something in time. 

All he could think about as the two walked away was how he acts differently around him than with girls. Obviously he's always flirting with the girls, but it always seemed so forced while his playfulness towards him is more natural. Even his voice sounds different, with him he's more relaxed and there's a deeper note. But when he talks to girls he's slightly more stiff with a higher pitch. He’s noticed it before but now he’s more certain of it.

It's kinda cute in a way. 

Okay so maybe he does have a little crush.

A _little_ crush. 

Yeah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryosuke realizing more and finally confirming his feelings 😅 we're getting there I swear!  
> Thank you for reading anyways 😘


	13. Chapter 13

The restaurant is busy tonight, chatter filling the air along with delicious smells from surrounding tables. Even with so much noise around, Ryosuke could only focus on the one person sitting across from him, peeking above his menu at him. They were both still in their office suits, the elegance of the other man glowing with his sharp eyes scanning the menu, long fingers tapping on the table.

Ryosuke cannot believe he followed Yujikku’s advice to ask Yuto out for dinner after work, even asking him for other dating advice like how nice to dress or how much effort he should put in styling his hair and makeup.

Even though he wouldn’t have the time since it’s right after work and they’re in their suits, Ryosuke wishing he had a shower before this, somewhat sweaty.

He’s stayed overtime with Yuto again on his own free will a few more times during the week, working on projects that he doesn’t normally work on, and he hates to admit it but it’s been fun. Today he managed to work up the courage to ask him to go out for dinner after they finished up, the thought in his mind all day.

But this isn’t supposed to be like a date no matter what Yujikku tried saying. He was trying to find a reason not to fall deeper for Yuto. There were already too many factors that were against him, like the world was against him and telling him not to date Yuto. Yuto is his boss where relationships are forbidden in the company and there are fangirls of Yutomania that will hunt him down.

Which were more stakes than when the world was telling him not to date Keito.

Yet here he is, feeling pathetic, his heart thumping in his chest at the thought of having to talk to Yuto one on one outside of work. His chest had always felt tight around Yuto, but he never would have thought it was because he likes him, having been convinced that he never wanted to be around him because of the opposite.

It’s gotten easier in their professional setting over time as they became closer working together on projects, but Yuto always acted more casual when they weren’t working. Even their texts were getting too friendly, starting to feel excited to see Yuto’s name on his phone.

This has never happened to him before, usually able to talk to his crushes and determined to ask them out like he did with Keito.

What makes Yuto different?

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Yuto asked, as their food arrived. “I was surprised when you asked to go out for dinner together as just the two of us.”

Ryosuke cleared his throat, having thought hard about what he wanted to talk about.

“What is it like dating as a... celebrity?” the last word stung in his mouth, trying not to make a face.

Ryosuke has always hated famous people, but now that he’s had close contact with one, his opinion has changed slightly, but he still hates how fangirls are constantly trying to find out private details, wondering how Yuto handles them.

Yuto tensed in his seat, pursing his lips.

“It’s… difficult.” he finally admitted. “My fans get angry every time I’m near any woman. My last girlfriend got tired of getting harassed by fangirls after we were caught, which I completely understand.” he responds bitterly.

Ryosuke vaguely remembers something like that happening, seeing everyone rioting over some scandal Yuto was involved in on social media, but he didn’t care at the time so he doesn’t know the details.

It was just as he expected though, it must be difficult with scandals constantly being sought after. Just being close to someone can cause chaos, even coworkers. He almost feels bad for him, being unable to do whatever he wishes freely.

It sickened him knowing that thousands of girls dreamed of dating Yuto but wouldn’t let him love normally.

“Are you currently interested in dating anyone?” he asked, curious if Yuto was even thinking of dating in the first place even if it was tough.

Yuto’s eye twitched, narrowing at him.

“Perhaps.” he replied, shuffling in his seat. “But I don’t have time to date… and some other factors.”

It surprised Ryosuke to hear that Yuto was interested in someone, curious in who it was. Another celebrity? A “regular” person?

"What type of girl do you like?" he questioned.

“My type?” Yuto hummed, staring directly at him. “I like an indoors person with a cute gap who takes on any challenge I throw and is hardworking… and likes video games.”

“Oh.” Ryosuke didn’t expect an answer like that, thinking he would give some kind of generic answer like cute and nice or whatever.

Though it surprised him more that it was similar to what he likes too.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you interested in anyone? A celebrity maybe since you asked about it?" Yuto smirked.

Ryosuke's face turned pink.

"I would hate being secretive if I dated a celebrity.” he replies honestly, ignoring the first question. The nosy fangirls were always a reason why he didn’t like Yuto in the first place. “I love to spend time with my partner in public and take them to fun places while holding hands." he daydreams of having a date with a pretty guy somewhere, someone tall with dark hair and moles scattered-

"What type of guy do you like?"

"W-what? Guy?" Ryosuke stuttered, surprised that Yuto said guy rather than girl. "How did you know...?"

"You told me you were gay one night... I think you were drunk though oops."

"Well I... I just like someone I can have fun with. You know, play games together and stuff." he blushes, looking away. It made him embarrassed that he didn’t know Yuto knew he liked men, cursing his drunk self for being so comfortable with people, wondering what else he’s told Yuto.

"Hey Yama-chan..." Yuto looked around quickly before standing up from his seat, leaning over the table towards him. Ryosuke flinched as he came closer, feeling his breath on his ear and neck. It was close enough to smell his cologne, having been more attracted to how Yuto smells more often lately. "I like men too." The whisper gave him a shiver even though Yuto’s heat was hot on his neck, Yuto lingering by his ear for a few long moments before pulling back with a wink.

"O-oh y-you do?" Ryosuke stumbled, his mind blanking as his hand automatically rubbed the spots on his neck where his hot breath hit him, feeling sensitive.

"But shh don't tell anyone my secret, the fangirls would lose it." Yuto winked again, a finger on his lips. "I don't tell too many people that but…" he paused. "Thought you might like to know."

Even though Ryosuke already knew that from Keito, hearing it from Yuto himself was shocking considering it isn't public knowledge. Why did Yuto think he’d want to know that? Was he just trying to make him feel better?

Or…?

They both jump as Yuto’s phone rings, Yuto taking a glance at the caller id and his face hardening immediately.

“I’ll be back, I need to take this, sorry.” he apologizes, leaving the table.

Ryosuke swallows, his neck still feeling warm, but he was worried about who called Yuto. His face didn't seem pleased with seeing who it was.

Was it a girl? A guy?

When Yuto returned, he was pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I got confirmation that I’ll be going on a business trip.” Yuto announces. “For two weeks.”

Ryosuke blinked at the abrupt news.

“You’re leaving… for two weeks? When?”

“Three days from now." Yuto huffed, his lips pursed, pushing his hair back.

"Is it serious?" Ryosuke frowned, not liking how distressed Yuto became.

"No, it's just…" Yuto sighed. "I won't be able to connect to the internet or have service very well so it’ll be hard to contact me. Plus I’ll need to put someone else in charge at the office and then...”

As Yuto continues, Ryosuke was imagining two weeks without contact from Yuto. He’ll be able to experience how it would feel if someone other than Yuto was his boss, like he had dreamed of before, when he first began his job. It relieved him slightly, knowing that they’ll be able to distance themselves, letting Ryosuke refocus himself on work like the beginning when he wasn’t so distracted. It should be enough time for him to get over Yuto.

They paid and started to pack up their stuff, talking about how work will go when a girl’s voice was heard. 

“Is that Yutti?”

The two boys stiffened, hearing the nickname through the chattiness of the restaurant, hurrying to leave.

“You’re Yutomania, right?” a girl appeared by their sides holding out her phone. “Can I take pictures?”

“Hi! Of course!” Yuto says smoothly, his internet personality coming out instantly.

Ryosuke has seen the switch a few times by now. The way his voice changes and how sweet and confident he becomes towards girls. He watched them chat for a bit after taking pictures together, frowning and tapping his foot. While he knew he could just leave on his own, he didn’t like how the girl was talking to Yuto, being slightly touchy, taking close photos.

The girl probably just wanted fame for meeting a celebrity randomly, it wasn’t like she was friends with Yuto. She didn’t have any kind of relationship with Yuto, or any good reason to talk to him.

Not like he does.

“Sorry, but we’re in a business meeting so we need to leave. Now.” Ryosuke interjected sternly, walking in between the two, waving away the girl and motioning towards the door.

They weren’t in a business meeting in the first place, so Ryosuke doesn’t know why he had to lie, but he just wanted to leave, annoyed with the girl for behaving like she was close to Yuto.

Yuto’s eyes widened for a split second but he agreed, apologizing to the girl quickly before the two boys headed out. Ryosuke could feel eyes digging into his back, but he didn’t care if it was rude or not. She was the rude one for interrupting them in the first place.

They walked for a bit, glancing back to make sure they weren’t being followed before Yuto exhaled in relief.

“You saved me there, Yama-chan, thank you for getting me out of that.”

“We’re still in our work suits, so it was easy and convincing.” he shrugged, remembering when he watched a girl drag Yuto away. “I thought you like talking to your fans?”

“I do but…” Yuto paused. “Sometimes it gets overwhelming.” Ryosuke sighs, about to say something when Yuto continues. “But I like talking to you, Yama-chan, it’s nice.”

“Huh? I, uh, like talking to you too.”

How could he say something like that with a straight face?

“It’s comforting talking to someone who doesn’t talk to me just because I’m famous.” Yuto continues, grinning at him, nearly blinding him.

Where has Ryosuke heard something like that before? Someone else who has some fame?

When they do part, Ryosuke couldn’t stop thinking about how girls have interrupted their chats multiple times before, even when they were arriving or leaving work. It made him upset that they always get in the way. That they always steal their time together away…

Originally his plan tonight was to clear up his feelings for Yuto by confirming that it would be more of a pain to try to date him, yet tonight seemed to have made his feelings even worse, his heart still feeling something, especially after he watched that girl touch him, thinking of him having a girlfriend or boyfriend made his stomach squeeze and his heart heavy, hating that idea.

Jealousy?

Yuto even confessed that he likes guys to him personally, was that supposed to be a sort of hint? But if he dates Yuto instead, he knew they would have to keep their relationship a deep secret even though he wants nothing more than to be able to flaunt his partner to everyone and take them everywhere. His every move was already being observed by fangirls in the area, he can’t imagine the hawk gaze if they find out they’re dating.

Both options hurt his head.

When he made it back home, he needed to get his mind off of Yuto, checking to see who was online on discord to message, Yujikku being the first person. 

_Kurusuke: Yujik do you want to do something together on Jump Party? 😊_

_Yujikku: I would love to but I have to finish a bunch of work I suddenly got tonight 😭😭_

_Kurusuke: Then when you finish??_

_Yujikku: I don't think I can tonight sorry Kuru_

_Actually…_

_I'll probably be unable to play or talk much for the next two weeks since I'll be busy somewhere with bad internet for work 😔_

_Kurusuke: Noooooo_

_So no video games with you for two weeks?? 🥺🥺🥺_

_Yujikku: Probably_

Ryosuke groaned out loud. Two whole weeks? How was he going to survive without being able to talk to Yujikku?

Two weeks without Yujikku… Two weeks without Yuto...

It’s going to be a long two weeks.

~~~

Ryosuke arrives at work, thinking about how he should greet Yuto today, only to get there and remember he was out for his trip.

It was weird having someone else in charge of the office. He vaguely knew the person, Sakurai, but he didn't feel as comfortable working with his temporary boss and showing him his work. The compliments didn't make him feel anything and didn't motivate him to work more. The whole atmosphere of the office changed, creating some damp mood and he didn't want to be here, even if he was enjoying his work. There was something missing that gave the dull place some life. There weren't any distractions, but Ryosuke found it hard to focus on his work.

Looking over at Yuto's desk was strange, clean and empty, when it was usually covered with papers and binders. Obviously, no one was sitting there doing work.

He didn't like it.

He wishes that Yuto was back already.

When he got home each day, he didn’t feel as accomplished even though he was completing all of his work on time. Since he wasn’t doing more overtime with Yuto, he felt like he had more time at home, using that time to play video games, but even that felt somewhat lonely knowing that he couldn’t play with Yujikku.

This time was supposed to let him sort out his mind since he didn't have a way of contacting Yuto. But what all the distance is doing is making him wonder what Yuto is doing, how Yuto is managing, if Yuto is doing okay. 

He even resorted to watching some of his videos on YouTube, blocking out everything but Yuto's voice, soothing him and taking his boredom away. Did he just watch another 30 minute long video about him ranting about cameras? Yes. Did he hate it? Not as much as he thought. In fact, it was somewhat interesting, recognizing some terms that Yuto had said in a previous video. Or was it in real life that he heard that information? He'll just have to rewatch that one...

Yuto had uploaded a quick video apologizing and saying that he won't be able to upload while he was away and he felt like reading some of the comments, most being supportive but a few angry ones. He replied to the ones that were upset, defending him since Yuto couldn't help it since it was for work.

Why was he going through the effort for this?

After nearly two weeks passed, Ryosuke made plans with Keito one day for dinner and drinks, considering Yuto wasn’t around to host the section dinner and he wanted to go out, but not alone. Surprisingly, he was completely over his crush on him already.

They ended up talking about Yuto as always, getting Keito to tell him some embarrassing stories about him after a couple drinks, like the time Yuto spent five minutes trying to figure out he couldn't open a pull door by pushing it.

It made him laugh, seeing him more as a human who does still make dumb mistakes at times but brushes it off.

"I hope he's doing well." Keito sighs. "I miss him."

"Yeah me too, but he’ll be back tomorrow." Ryosuke hums happily, stiffening once Keito whistles at him, a knowing smile on his face. "I-I mean I don't really miss him, all he does is give me work but…" he stuttered.

Keito laughed.

"He's been telling me that you two are getting closer."

"Really? Does he talk about me a lot?"

What does Yuto say about him? And to who other than Keito?

"All the time. He keeps asking me if I've been in contact with you, it's cute seeing how much he cares about you."

"He just cares about me because I do work for him." Ryosuke rolls his eyes. 

"You think so?" Keito raised an eyebrow. "I've seen that look in his eyes before." he shrugs.

"What look?" puzzled Ryosuke.

"Maybe Yuto will tell you, or maybe he won't." he smiles innocently. “I dated the guy for a bit and we're still close friends so I know him pretty well.”

“Dated Yuto-kun and still close friends…” Ryosuke repeated under his breath, looking away. “Lucky.”

“Are you jealous?”

Ryosuke chokes on his drink.

“Me? J-jealous?”

“I’ve always wondered if you liked Yuto, so I was surprised when you confessed to me.” Keito explained. “It was the way you talked about him.”

The way he talked about him? Ryosuke sighs, having heard this from several different people, even from the beginning before he himself figured it out. The Chibis especially tell him how passionate he sounds. Ever since he had dinner with Yuto last, he still can’t get over how girls think they can be all over him, thinking about when Yuto had said it can get overwhelming.

Was he jealous of those girls? Was he jealous of Keito dating him?

But then Yuto said that he likes talking to him, that he's comforting to talk to and that made him feel happy. They've been talking more lately and he's been finding comfort in talking to Yuto as well. Even through Yuto's YouTube videos, he finds a comfort in his voice... just like old times when he first liked him.

And now...

“Keito…” Ryosuke sighs. “I do like him.”

Again.

~~~

"Noooooo!" Ryosuke cries out, dropping his game console on the table and flopping his head and arms over it. 

"Ha! I got you this time!" Daiki pumps his fist into the air in victory as the word "GAME" flashes across his screen. 

"You got sooo lucky. I would've won if only you didn't get that stupid star." Ryosuke crosses his arms, glaring past Chinen, practically on Daiki's lap, the two high fiving each other.

"Aw look at Ryosuke being a sore loser." Chinen giggles, leaning over to poke at Ryosuke's cheek, promptly getting swatted away.

“Give him a break, he’s probably still distracted over his love.” Daiki reasons, pulling Chinen’s hand away. “Though… I must admit, beating you is always a good feeling." he teases, now poking Ryosuke's other cheek.

"What are you guys talking about?" Ryosuke puffs his cheeks out as his two friends poke at them, reminding him of how much Yuto likes poking at them...

The Chibis got him to talk about his feelings for Yuto, trying to convince him that he’s had a crush on Yuto this entire time without realizing it.

At this point… Ryosuke believes it, though he still won’t admit they were right.

Yuto is much different than how he first thought he was and they've been working so much together recently that Ryosuke can hardly remember what his life was like before he met Yuto and before Alpha Games half a year ago. The break while Yuto was away just confirmed how lonely he felt without Yuto to talk to or work with and how much he actually likes having him around.

But he was still conflicted, not wanting the fangirls to get involved and he doesn’t know how to handle it yet. Even though he’s been thinking about it nonstop for days.

"He's been back for a few days already, right? Have you texted him or anything?"

"I’ll see him at work tomorrow."

Chinen was laughing when suddenly his eyes went wide as he spotted something behind Ryosuke, ducking a little and moving to his own seat.

"Oh my God, that's him. The super pretty boy who came in the dance studio the other day." Chinen gasps. “And he’s with someone…” he squinted a bit, then his eyes widened. “Oh my God.” 

Ryosuke turns around, pretending to crack his back to look behind him but he freezes at what Chinen was referring to.

"What's up with you two?" Daiki frowns, trying to figure out what they were freaking out over without making it obvious.

Ryosuke didn't turn away fast enough and made eye contact with one of the tall men. 

"He caught you looking, Ryosuke. Oh my God he's pointing at us. Now they're walking toward us oh no." Chinen looks down at the game console in his hands.

"Yama-chan! Fancy meeting you here!" seeing Yuto's warm smile after not having seen it for over two weeks made his heart skip a beat. "I know you've been swamped with work lately, so I'm glad to see you're still alive."

"Yeah, I'm thriving. Nice seeing you too Yuto-kun." he puts on a smile, twitching.

Yuto's casual outfit looks good on him, used to seeing him in suits or at least business casual. He doesn’t count his videos, the real person looking much better. His hair was cute slightly messy. Ryosuke unconsciously pushes his own dark hair back, hoping it looks half as okay.

"I'm Arioka." Daiki introduces himself.

"And I'm Chinen!" Chinen pipes in, though his eyes fall on the other boy that was with Yuto.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both, I'm Nakajima Yuto. And this," he motions towards his friend, "Is Takaki Yuya."

"Hi." Yuya bows slightly, looking Ryosuke up and down. "So you’re Yama-chan?"

"YamaDA actually." he corrects him, interested in his smooth tones, sounding calming and beautiful.

And a tad bit familiar.

"YamaDA...kun. Got it." Yuya's eyes fall on Chinen and a flicker of recognition appears in his eyes. "Oh you are uh..." he cocks his head to the side.

"Chinen."

"You work at 159 Dance Studio, right?"

Chinen’s eyes widen and a smile spreads across his face.

"You recognize me?"

"Yeah! I heard of your acrobatic dance classes so I stopped by once. My body struggles doing those flips and things." he laughs, a pleasing deep sound.

“I could help you if you want one day, just make an appointment.” Chinen grins.

Ryosuke rolls his eyes at Chinen already flirting with the other pretty boy, though Ryosuke’s attention was on Yuto.

“Yeah sure, maybe one day.” Yuya agrees.

“Woah, is that the new fighting game that everyone is going crazy for?” Yuto points to their game consoles.

“It sure is, wanna give it a try?” Daiki offers his console to the taller male.

“Yes please!” Yuto carefully takes it from Daiki, his eyes sparkling as he looks through the list of characters. “C’mon, Yama-chan, I wanna kick your ass.” he smirks at him and Ryosuke couldn't back down.

“A bold challenge, Yuto-kun. I accept.”

Yuto does pretty well despite it being his first time playing it, although Ryosuke doesn’t want to tell him that. He’s only ever seen Yuto test games out, never thought of him playing other games.

“Arrgh!” Yuto frowns at the screen telling him he lost again. “How are you so good? Play me again.”

“Practice and patience.” Ryosuke replies, stretching his wrists a bit. “I didn’t think you actually played games, I thought you just liked the designs.”

"I play all types of games!” he defends himself. “Hey, speaking of which, Yuya and I were planning on going to the arcade nearby for a little bit if you guys wanna join?" Yuto suggests.

"That sounds fun! Let's go guys!" Chinen exclaims, already packing his stuff away. As he stands, he whispers to Ryosuke, “Don’t worry I’ll help you and Yuto along.”

Ryosuke blushes at Chinen’s knowing look, but he supposes he can spend some time as a large group, hoping that it doesn't become awkward between him and Yuto.

Once they get to the arcade, Chinen and Daiki immediately pull Yuya over to a rare three player game, Ryosuke and Yuto exchanging glances.

“Shall we find something else to do?” Yuto points with his thumb in the other direction.

Ryosuke nods, letting Yuto lead the way, stealing a glance at Chinen who just winks back.

So that’s Chinen’s way of “helping” him?

"How are you so good at this?" Ryosuke wails at the screen of the Taiko game seeing Yuto having a perfect score while he had mistakes, drumming his drumsticks lightly on Yuto.

"Practice and patience." He winks. "Though seriously, I play actual drums so I love playing this game."

“Well, you better teach me then.” Ryosuke says without thinking, not even realizing he asked that until Yuto laughed.

“Sure, let me know when you want to learn.”

They play a few songs, Ryosuke starting to get the hang of it, even though he lost every song, feeling his arms ache a little.

“Should we take a break?” Yuto wipes a bit of sweat from his brow.

“Sure. I wonder where the others are?” He looks around for the others, seeing Chinen and Yuya playing DDR in the distance with Daiki watching.

He was about to head over to them to ask if they wanted to sit for a bit, but Yuto grabbed his arm.

“C’mon, let’s go.” Yuto was already pulling him over to the food court.

“Is it okay for us not to tell the others?” Ryosuke questions, nervous about having to be alone with Yuto. Sure he was alone for some time already, but the games were distracting him from thinking about it.

And Yuto was holding his arm.

“Yeah, they look like they’re having fun.”

The two boys buy cold sodas and chips for themselves, finding an empty table to sit together. They discussed some games for a bit, but Ryosuke could feel Yuto’s eyes observing him closely, making him feel self conscious.

“So, Yama-chan.” Ryosuke jumps a little hearing his name, but nods for Yuto to continue. “Do you want to explain why you’ve been ignoring my texts these last couple days?”

He shifts in his chair, unsure if Yuto sounds upset with him or not.

“Does it seem like that?” Ryosuke forces out a laugh. He didn't know how friendly he should be with Yuto outside of work, so he thought it would be better to welcome him back in person instead of over text.

“Well I texted you to ask how you were doing when I landed back in Japan, but you just said you were busy.” Yuto started, looking down and fiddling with his drink. “But then you haven't said anything back when I asked you anything else. I was just wondering if something happened while I was gone?”

“Not at all!” Ryosuke shakes his head. “I just… have been busy with personal problems.”

How was he supposed to say that he realized how much he likes him and whenever he’s around him he gets all confused and worried? He didn’t respond because he was scared that he would say something weird or end up gushing about something.

“Okay, Yama-chan.” he gives a small comforting smile. “I’m here if you need someone to talk to.”

Yuto wasn’t angry with him? And still caring about him?

“Thanks Yuto-kun. I just need some time to deal with this myself…”

Some time to sort out his feelings for Yuto with the pros and cons.

Yuto’s expression becomes softer, placing a hand on his on the table, flinching at the warm contact of his larger hand on his.

Ah, he wants to see how well their fingers would fit together.

“Okay then. Why don’t we go back into the arcade to get your mind off things? Games always help distract me.” Yuto smiles at him.

“Sounds like a good plan.” Ryosuke stands up, releasing his hand from Yuto’s.

They head back to the arcade, Ryosuke feeling a little better, knowing that Yuto didn’t hate him for ignoring him.

“You little shit!” Ryosuke cries out as he gets hit with a shell right before the finish line of the racing game they picked, Yuto speeding past him for first place.

“That was super close, but it looks like I win this one, Yama-chan.” Yuto turns to him, a huge smile on his face.

“Okay but I won the first game so we’re even now.” Ryosuke grips the wheel, trying not to laugh at how Yuto was slightly bouncing in the car, pleased with himself.

“Ryosuke, your driving skills in this game are like your real life driving skills.”

He jumped when a voice appeared next to him.

“Chi!” he cries out, facing his friend grinning at him.

“So, a bad driver?” Yuya comments behind Chinen.

“I’m not that bad I swear! How long have you guys been there?”

“Around the second lap, I’m surprised you were still in the lead even when you crashed into the wall.” Daiki pops out from his other side. “But then Yuto-kun made a marvelous comeback at the end!”

The three spectators clapped saying "ohhh".

“Should we play a third game to find out who wins between us?” Yuto smirked, getting ready for the next race.

“Yuto, don’t forget about our meeting, we don’t want to be late." Yuya throws out, shaking his head. "Or we’ll have to sit through one of Yabu’s lectures again.” he shivers.

Yuto shivers too, looking at the time on his phone.

“We have a bit of free time?” he tries.

“We also need to stop by the store to pick up drinks and-”

“Yeah yeah, when did you become the voice of reason?” Yuto interrupts, hopping up, facing the three shorter males. “We should head out, we have a meeting with a couple others today and Yuya and I were put in charge of buying supplies.”

“Oh okay, thanks for letting us hang out with you guys.” Ryosuke thanks them.

“Yeah, it was fun meeting you two, maybe we’ll see each other again?” Chinen adds.

“Definitely, Yuto and I come here pretty often to kill some time, it’ll be fun.”

They all say goodbye to each other, watching the two taller men leave.

“So that was your prince charming?” Of course Chinen and Daiki waste no time teasing him. “He’s really not that bad in person like we thought, hot and sweet like you said.”

“You two barely talked to him! And I never said-! Whatever, how about you and what’s his name, Takagi?” Ryosuke counters at Chinen. 

“It’s Takaki. And he has a boyfriend already.” Chinen shrugs.

“You asked him already? I cannot believe how shy around people you always seem.” Ryosuke exclaims, Chinen only shrugging again.

“Anyways, back to you and Yuto. Did you tell him your feelings yet?” Daiki presses.

Ryosuke sighs, thinking back to fangirls. Nothing wrong happened today and it was fun spending time with Yuto, boosting his mood and erasing his anxiety.

“My feelings will go away soon.” he looks down at his feet, kicking at the chair slightly.

"Are you going to keep saying that? It’s pretty impossible to since as I suspected, you guys are much closer than you think since you both… Oops.” Chinen covers his mouth, stopping himself from saying more. 

“What are you talking about?” Ryosuke frowned, wondering what Chinen meant. “Sure we work together and played a few games together but that’s because I wanted to beat this ass in something I’m good at.”

“Sure, says the one who was smiling and laughing like a couple in love.”

Ryosuke choked on air.

“A couple?? No. No no. Do NOT say that.” Ryosuke’s face felt hot, wondering if they actually did look like a couple.

What if someone caught them? He was really hoping that no one else saw them like that or heard what Daiki just said.

“Also Chi, I’ve been wondering…” Ryosuke directed the conversation away from him and Yuto. “You were totally mocking my driving skills earlier weren’t you? Why don’t me and you have a little race?” he points at the game he and Yuto were just playing, one race left since Yuto had to retire early.

He needed to distract them.

“Are you sure you want to race me?” Chinen dared, already moving to sit at one of the cars. “I may not have my driver’s license but I know how to drive in a game.”

“You. Are. On.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A late update since I've been taking a step away from fandom stuff but I'll try and spend some time to edit more chapters to get them out~
> 
> Also thank you all for comments and reading!! I definitely read (and re-read) them, even if I end up not replying because I don't know how to respond but I'm so grateful for them 🥰😘


	14. Chapter 14

It’s night, it's late, and Ryosuke wants to drop to the floor.

"I can't believe this." Ryosuke mumbled to himself, sighing with exhaustion as he sat behind the counter of the deserted convenience store.

He had gotten out of his shift at Alpha Games after working overtime with Yuto, only to read a text from one of his co workers asking if he could cover a shift here. He would have said no but he owes his co worker one for covering his ass one time before, so he felt obliged to agree.

So here he is.

Honestly, he could stop working here anytime now that he has a full time job, but he’s too fond of the place to stop, enjoying greeting regular customers and talking to Jun like his second family. After all, it was Jun that made him go to the interview at Alpha Games in the first place even though he didn’t want to because of Yuto.

Which was a stupid reason, he realizes now.

It wasn’t like he had any plans in the middle of the week anyways, he would have just been playing video games at this point. There are hardly any customers at this time, almost making it relaxing, though a little boring by himself.

Since Yuto returned to the office, the mood of the place became more lively like it was before and Ryosuke began to enjoy his work again. He was glad to have Yuto as his boss again, happy to hear his voice in person rather than videos that he’s been binge watching, even if it was to give him orders. He liked the strict routine that Yuto had in place, motivating him to work harder.

But because he works so hard, he’s tired, yet he still chooses to do overtime, spending more time with Yuto than he ever thought he would. He never would have imagined that he would want to spend extra time with Yuto, missing his presence after the short time he was gone, feeling much longer than it was, missing him.

He could just text him now, there was no one else in the store and no one to yell at him for slacking. But what would he even text him about? The latest designs he worked on? His game plan ideas? How he’s doing since they parted ways just a few hours ago?

His thoughts are broken as he hears the bell on the door ring. 

"Welcome- huh?" Ryosuke calls out in his customer server voice before realizing who it was, his mouth opening in an ‘o’ as a tall man wearing a hat and face mask stepped in. "Yuto-kun? Does that disguise even work?"

Speaking of the devil.

Yuto stood at the door, frozen with wide eyes.

"Yama-chan? Why are you working tonight?" he removes his mask, frowning. "You've been working all day, you need rest. And yes surprisingly the disguise works sometimes."

"It's not exactly like I want to be here." Ryosuke shrugged, willing his heart to stop racing. It’s just Yuto. Just… Yuto... "I’m covering for tonight so you’re stuck with me.”

It’s not often that Ryosuke gets to speak with him when he's on shift, only visiting a couple times a month or so and when there were other people he had to attend to. But this wasn't his regular shift, so he was pleasantly surprised to see him, feeling his tiredness and boredom slipping away, wondering if he stops by more when he isn’t normally working like this.

Lucky him for covering his coworker’s shift tonight.

"Stuck with you? I uh…" Yuto mumbled. "I just remembered I have something else to do." he starts to turn to the door.

"Don't give me that, get back in here and buy something." Ryosuke frowned, wondering why Yuto wanted to leave so quickly.

Yuto pursed his lips but gave in, grabbing a basket and a few items, Ryosuke just watching him from afar. If Ryosuke didn’t know who he was, he would think that he was some regular person doing some quick shopping. He snorts a little at the thought, forgetting that this guy is far from normal, looking too flawless as a social influencer and also his boss.

Though sometimes he doesn’t seem like the hot shot he is anymore.

When Yuto collects all his items, he places them on the counter in front of him.

"See? Not so hard." Ryosuke started scanning the items, a selection of snacks and drinks. “Is that all?”

Yuto reluctantly hands over a gift card and it surprises Ryosuke, a familiar card that he buys himself quite often. 

A $50 Kekeke Games card.

It was a card that was used for multiple online games made by the Kekeke company, though Ryosuke questions the content of some of them. But the most important game was his favorite mmo, Jump Party, which is currently having a sale on boxes for outfits that he might try for over the weekend.

"I'm still surprised you don't stream your games or upload them on Youtube.” Ryosuke hums as he scans the card. "This much money could get you some good stuff. Which game is it for?" he asks, curious in the kinds of games that Yuto plays.

He wanted to ask if he plays Jump Party, but he was worried that if he did, he would have to say his game name and Yuto might recognize it since he uses Kurusuke for his Youtube account. He’s been leaving more comments under his videos, but he’s never gotten a reply from Yuto considering there were always thousands of them.

Not that he wants one.

Plus he doesn’t want to reveal his dumb side to Yuto yet, wanting to keep his internet personality away from his real life personality.

"I play games for myself, not fans.” Yuto responds wearily, his shoulders slumped. “Games are my escape from all the other pressures in life that I have to keep up with my appearances. Social media like Instagram and Twitter, Youtube, work... it goes on and on." he counts on his fingers.

Ryosuke stiffens, it was surprising to hear that, having expected Yuto to be playful and secretive as usual, but instead he's serious. He didn't have much of the energy he's used to seeing, sensing something was off.

"So games are when you can relax as yourself?" Ryosuke guessed, earning a nod from the taller.

"It's when I can just mess around and have fun with people who want to just chill and focus on playing the game and not…” He sighs. “Yutomania.” a hint of bitterness showing.

Ryosuke felt that, preferring the life of online video games where he can distract himself from real life problems and focus on how his hands feel on his keyboard or his controller. It relieves stress and he can easily surround himself with people he likes and has fun with. He can be his fun dorky and stupid self online without feeling like he’s being judged.

“That makes sense, games are my escape too from the real world.” Ryosuke agrees. “Yutomania has it hard, I don’t think I would want people watching my every move in a game and judging me.” he knows he makes mistakes playing games all he time, dying when he shouldn’t have or just messing up.

The Chibis know best.

“That’s how it is being a YouTuber sometimes, it’s tough but I gotta do it.” Yuto shrugs, exhaling deeply. “I never know if a fan is watching me in public either so I have to keep it up at all times and it gets overwhelming.” he glances around quickly, relaxing again once he sees it’s only them two.

Maybe it was because it was late, but he’s never seen Yuto express his thoughts on being popular so openly, feeling a little vulnerable. 

This wasn’t the first time Yuto mentioned being overwhelmed, Ryosuke recalling the time when they were stopped at the restaurant by a fan. Ryosuke used to think that social influencers had everything handed to them and was easy money, but after getting to know Yuto more and seeing how he works at 110% all the time, he sees how wrong he was and now believes that they have a lot on their plates and are hard workers.

“You already do your vlogs and drum covers and I think those are good enough.” Ryosuke says softly. “They’re fun to watch without the gaming stuff.”

Adding games to his list of things to do would mean extra work to have to fit in streaming times or editing even more videos, not to mention picking the right games. It must be stressful enough already for him.

“Thank you, Yama-chan.” Yuto smiles at him, drinking an energy drink he had just bought. “But anyways enough of that damp mood… I thought you didn't watch my videos?” his tone switched, becoming more playful.

Busted.

“I only watched a few.” he lied, coughing. “Do you have to finish work tonight?” he asks, trying to change the subject.

“I’m free tonight thanks to you helping out earlier.” Yuto praised. “Thanks for your hard work, you did great once again, Yamada.”

“Did I?” he beamed. “I told you it’s fine, I don’t mind the work.”

Every time Yuto praised him, it made him feel proud of himself, like he was proving himself and his work was being accepted. He’s even heard comments from others that sometimes his work was thought to be as good as Yuto’s, or even better, which he cannot believe.

“What about working here? You get customers this late?” Yuto asked.

“A few stragglers like you.” Ryosuke shrugs. “But it’s mostly quiet, not many people.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

He knows that people would kill to get paid for sitting around and doing nothing, but he would rather be actively working and struggling at something instead of doing easy work like ringing up orders and bagging products. He prefers a challenge.

“I guess, but it’s just boring by myself.” he taps on the counter, the sound echoing slightly.

“Can I keep you company?”

“What? Why?” Ryosuke puzzles, making a face. “Don’t you have better things to do than hang around here?”

“I said I was free tonight, and besides I was thinking that I wanted to see you tonight, so lucky me.” Yuto smirks.

“Right, I wanted to see you too because I wanted to ask you a question about that proposal I sent in.”

“Ask me later, I didn’t want to see you because of work.” Yuto leans on the counter. “Just wanted to see you, it gives me energy, like my stress is being sucked out by you.”

Ryosuke was taken aback, feeling a blush start to creep up his neck.

 _Me too_.

“Do what you want. Just don’t get in the way, I’m a busy man at work.” he brushes his hair back.

“Busy with what? We’re the only two in the whole store and it’s quiet.”

The only two. In an empty store.

“Inventory stuff you know.” Ryosuke fiddles with the sweets on the counter, trying to focus on anything that wasn't Yuto, feeling his eyes watching him.

It was fine when they were working alone together at the office because they had work to focus on, but Ryosuke doesn’t have anything to distract himself with here. He doesn't know what to talk about other than work, feeling awkward.

This wasn’t part of the plan.

_Click._

Ryosuke’s head shot up, Yuto pointing his camera at him.

“When did you…? Why did you take a photo of me?”

“Because I can.”

“I look awful.”

“You look pretty, look.”

Yuto showed him the photo, wondering if he used his photography magic like the last time he had taken a random photo of him, the time when they had finished a meeting and went out to eat afterwards, but there was nothing special about this one. Just him in his work outfit, adjusting the candy bars that don’t need to be.

Internally, he sighs in relief that his blush wasn’t visible, hoping that he wasn’t now.

“I’m sweaty and grumpy from work. I look gross.” Ryosuke turns away, fixing his hair.

“Yeah and? You’re still pretty.”

Yet Yuto keeps calling him pretty and it’s getting to him.

“Shut up.”

“I wasn’t joking when I said I want you to model for me, if you remember me asking.” Yuto reminded him. “I want to take more photos of you.”

Of course he remembers that, but he was afraid that it was just a joke of Yuto’s, considering he likes to take photos of everything. But hearing it again makes him wonder why he wants to take his photos instead of someone else, remembering how Yuto had said he thought he would be a good model. He didn’t want to be the one asking for Yuto’s busy time just because he selfishly wants to see if Yuto can make him feel like he did that one time.

_You look breathtaking._

“Well this model is ready to mess up your amazing photos anytime.” he cautions.

“Next week.”

Ryosuke blinks.

“What?”

“Next week.” Yuto repeats. “We can do a short photo shoot, nothing big. Just to get you comfortable in front of the camera.”

“... You actually want to do this?” Ryosuke questions, wanting to make sure, looking into Yuto’s serious eyes. “Are you sure you want me as your model and not someone else?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I think I have an idea on what I’ll make you do.” Yuto points his camera at him again, taking another photo. “Aw you look stiff in this one.”

“Scary… What are you thinking of?” Ryosuke asks curiously, looking at the recent photo taken.

… He does look stiff.

“Two ideas.” Yuto holds up two fingers. “But I need to check if I have the right materials and clothing so I can’t tell you exactly yet.”

“A surprise, huh? Can’t wait, it better be good.” Ryosuke provoked.

Yuto places a finger on his lips, humming lowly, his eyes gazing down his body for a few moments before smiling mischievously.

“One idea might be more fun than the other and would need less… materials.” he winked.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Ryosuke cries out, blushing, instinctively covering his chest with his arms.

He can’t mean…?

“Relax, we’ll only do what you feel comfortable with.” Yuto snickers. "If you don't want to do sexy then I can think of plenty of non-sexy stuff."

He imagines it, him posing as Yuto circles around him with a camera, giving him all of his attention. Yuto telling him how to move his body and stripping his clothes...

“W-well, shouldn’t you be leaving now?” Ryosuke coughed, trying to stop his mind from wandering too deep.

“Yamada…” Yuto frowned. “You’re confusing.”

“Huh?” Ryosuke cocked his head.

"One minute you're telling me to come in and stay, then the next trying to get me to leave?" Yuto pouts. "Which is it?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yeah, a lot actually."

Ryosuke runs a hand through his hair, unsure if he’s okay with being alone with Yuto after having those thoughts, but a question pops in his head to change the subject.

“Why do you shop here anyways?” Ryosuke asks, genuinely curious.

There were tons of nicer stores around that Yuto could easily afford, yet he comes to this run down place even though he thinks it’s in the opposite direction of his place, judging on how they part after work. It’s good for business and for attracting people in, but he never understood why Yuto began regularly stopping by in the first place.

"Two reasons." Yuto held two fingers up.

Ryosuke perked up, surprised that he was getting an answer this easily again.

"Two reasons? That you come here?"

"One, this,” He holds up the Kekeke Games card. “Is what brought me here in the first place. I come here when it’s quieter so no one can catch me.”

Makes sense. If he went to a more open shop then there would be a higher risk of being caught and questioned by a fan. Though Yuto never answered him on what game he plays.

“So, what about the second reason?”

“Do you want to know?”

“Of course.”

Yuto leans over the counter, hooking his arm around his neck and pulling him closer.

“Yuto-kun?” Ryosuke gasps as he finds their faces close together, unable to move due to shock. “W-what are you doing? Someone could see you and-”

“Who?” Yuto whispers, his breath hitting him. “We’re the only two in the whole store.”

“And what’s the point of this... position?” he tries to shift but Yuto's arm holds him in place.

“This is the second reason I keep coming here.”

He was confused and his mind was spinning, wanting to both push Yuto away yet pull him closer at the same time.

“Huh? What is?”

“Do you remember what I said to you the first time I came in while you were working here?”

Ryosuke tries to think back to months ago, but his mind is messed up with Yuto being _so close_ , unconsciously licking his lips.

“... No?”

“I’m interested in you.”

The words hit Ryosuke again, the last time was when Yuto was pressed up against him in the small room, remembering what had almost happened in a similar position. But compared to that time, now he's certain he likes Yuto. Is he… about to kiss him? The counter was in the way, but their faces were close enough, craving the contact. He swallows, his heart pounding in his chest as Yuto’s dark eyes examine his own, glancing downwards to his lips.

Ryosuke lets his eyes flutter close, parting his lips as Yuto leans in closer, tilting his face.

Hot.

Closer.

Closer.

Then he was pushed back, his eyes shooting open as Yuto immediately threw his face mask back on and turned away.

But Ryosuke caught the pink in his cheeks.

“Why did you stop-”

“Oh Ryosuke, you’re working tonight?” an adult woman interrupted him.

A regular customer.

“I-I-I’m just c-covering.” he stammered, realizing he missed the sound of the bell on the door since he was so caught up in the moment.

Damn it.

Right when he would have finally been able to taste Yuto’s lips.

He tries to quickly compose himself as the woman speaks to him, hoping he wasn’t overly flustered and obvious. Hopefully she didn’t see Yuto’s face or recognize him, he would die on the spot if a fan caught Yuto about to kiss him.

Kissing him.

Luckily she didn’t ask any questions, but the knowing look she gave him before leaving made him want to disappear in a hole.

The two were alone in the store again, an awkward silence heavy between them.

“I should go now.” Yuto finally broke the air, clearing his throat.

“You’re not going to stay? I’ll be off soon.” Ryosuke suggests, but he knows the mood was broken.

Yuto hesitates, but shakes his head.

“I shouldn’t.”

"You should come by when I'm working more often." Ryosuke scratches his neck.

"Why?" Yuto raises an eyebrow.

I want to see you more.

"I get bored and lonely sometimes." Ryosuke shrugs.

“...I’ll think about it.”

Ryosuke watches Yuto leave, his heart still racing as Yuto steals a glance back, leaving him alone in the empty store.

Every time.

Every time he gets close to kissing him, Yuto pushes him away or turns away before he can close the gap. If only he were a second faster each time.

But tonight it felt different, Ryosuke was sure Yuto would have kissed him for real if they weren’t interrupted. Everything felt so right until that last moment.

“Argh!” Ryosuke ruffles his hair, trying to calm his frustrations as it replays in his mind over, and over again, his lips feeling warm with Yuto’s breath on them.

He can’t wait to get home and kill some zombies.

~~~

You got this, Ryosuke.

At least, that’s what he keeps telling himself.

“I believe in you, Yama.” Daiki breathes out slowly. “I’m praying for the best.”

“Thanks, I’ll need it.” Ryosuke chuckles bitterly, tapping on his computer desk in the dark. “I don’t have much time left, it’s now or never.”

He swallows as he hovers his mouse over the button, his hand shaking. The last time he tried didn’t go well, so he hardly has expectations, but this time he was feeling hopeful that this time will be better, that he’ll succeed.

“Did you do it yet?” Chinen whispers into his mic. “Just do it.”

“Okay okay, fine.” He exhales again before finally clicking the button. “There I did it, argh I can’t watch.” he covers his eyes as all three Chibis hold their breath, praying for good results.

After a bit of time, he peeks open his eyes, looking at all ten items he got from a new clothing mystery box he bought in Jump Party staring back at him.

“Guys...” Ryosuke mumbles. “I…”

“Did you get it??” both Chinen and Daiki jump from their seats.

“Nope.” was the simple response as Ryosuke hit his head on his desk. “There goes most of my gold and I didn’t even get what I wanted.”

After spending all day at work contemplating if he should buy a Kekeke Games card to try getting a new outfit in game, he caved in buying a $25 card. It’s been on his mind ever since he saw Yuto buy a card the other day, blaming him.

But that's not the only thing that's been on his mind for several days, the almost kiss floating though again, Ryosuke shaking his head.

“Aw, cheer up Ryosuke. Maybe you’ll get it next time.” Chinen tries to comfort him.

Ryosuke glares at Chinen’s small priest, showing off the new limited edition devil wings, perfectly matching his personality. They look stunning, large and leaving a trail of sparkly black smoke behind your character as you move. The other wings, the angel wings, did the same, except with sparkly gold smoke, which were the ones he wanted.

“If it makes you feel better, I didn’t get any of them either.” Daiki adds.

“Me and you Dai-chan. Me and you…” the two making crying noises together.

In the midst of them fake crying, he hears a sound letting him know someone on his friends list logged on.

_Kurusuke: Yuuuuuujikkkkk T-T_

_Yujikku: What’s wrong Kuruuuu?? :O_

_Kurusuke: I’m trying to get the new wings from the mystery boxes, give me your luck pls_

_Yujikku: Oh those!_

_They’re super pretty aren’t they?_

_Hold on_

“It’s Yujikku!” Chinen cheered, and as expected, Yujikku had appeared on the map that the three were hanging out in as Ryosuke spends all his gold on outfit boxes.

“That asshole!” Ryosuke growls, seeing that Yujikku had gotten the angel wings that he wanted, looking flawless on his character, clothed in pastel blues and pinks, looking way too cute for such a tall and powerful male character towering over his shorter character.

But it fit him, like a literal angel with stardust floating around him. His outfits were always beautiful or interesting, jealous of his fashion sense in the game, always thinking that Yujikku is cute.

Ryosuke grinned as he couldn't help but notice that his archer still had the matching electric weapon effect like his from ages ago, despite the rest of the outfit being completely new. He had expected Yujikku to change it with his outfit after a week, but surprisingly he kept it on, so Ryosuke kept his on his character to this day even if it doesn’t fit with his outfit.

_Yujikku: Hiya! I came to bless you with my good luck ;)_

_I bought some gold the other day and got them on my last try_

_Kurusuke: Are you sure you didn’t come just to rub it in? >< _

_How many tries_

_Yujikku: Too many next question_

_Kurusuke: How much money_

_Yujikku: Too much next question_

_Kurusuke: … I’m jealous_

_Sabonen: Hi Yujikku!_

_Look we kinda match with the wings_

_Yujikku: Congrats on the devil wings, Sabonen!_

_They look good c:_

“Should I use the last of my gold to buy another box?” Ryosuke questions, just barely having enough for one more box of ten accessories.

“Go for it, maybe having Yut… jikku here will give you good luck?” Daiki suggests.

_Kurusuke: Okay I’m going to try ONE more box, and if I don’t get any of the wings… Yujik owes me 100 silver >:) _

_Yujikku: HEY! I DIDN’T AGREE! D:_

Ryosuke buys another box with the last of his gold, his friends all wishing him good luck, and opens it, watching it this time.

“Please… Please…” Ryosuke mumbles.

He looks through what he had gotten as they appear one by one on his screen agonizingly slowly.

Junk, junk, cool but not needed, junk, already have that, junk, junk, okay that’s not too bad, junk…

So far nothing too good… but there’s one more item left…

And its...

“HOLY SHIT!” Ryosuke jumps from his seat, his jaw dropping at the sight of the oh so beautiful angel wings glittering on his screen. “I GOT THE ANGEL WINGS!”

“CONGRATS!” his friends scream back at him.

_Kurusuke: YUUUJIKKKUUU T-T_

_Yujikku: ... I have my silver ready for you_

_Kurusuke: No I got the wings I wanted T-T_

_You are an actual good luck angel_

_Yujikuu: OH CONGRATS!!!!!!_

_See, I knew I would bring you good luck!_

_Daikingu: Now I’m the odd one out D:_

_Yujikku: Maybe if you open one now you’ll ride the luck train :)_

_Daikingu: I am so, so poor..._

Ryosuke equips the wings right away, excitedly jumping around watching his character sparkle, even though it didn’t really fit his character dressed in reds and blacks, but he’ll fiddle with his outfit later.

_Yujikku: Now me and Kuru match! :D_

_Omg you look beautiful_

_Stop jumping I want to take do a photo shoot of us together because we’re cute_

Ryosuke does as he was told, using the in-game emoticons to let Yujikku take some screenshots, excited to see the outcomes later when he edits them to make the colors look better. Every time Yujikku comes up with a new outfit idea, he does a small “photo shoot”, sometimes with Kurusuke in them for fun.

Photo shoots, huh? He shivers, remembering his plans with Yuto.

_Kurusuke: Now we have two things that match_

_Yujikku: I could make that more?_

_Kurusuke: Don’t_

_Sabonen: Cute cute!! >w< _

_You’re both like a matching couple!! <3 _

_Kurusuke: But we’re not a couple??_

_Yujikku: We would be a cute couple!!_

_Kurusuke: YUJIK WHAT_

_Yujikku: KURU WHAT_

_LET ME BUY US FULL MATCHING OUTFITS ALREADY_

_Kurusuke: NO_

_Yujikku: A FRIENDSHIP RING AT LEAST??_

“Those are the rings couples use that glow when you’re around each other right?” queried Ryosuke.

“Yeah, he's basically asking to put a ring on your character.” Chinen teases.

“Don’t make it sound like he’s asking for my hand in marriage in the game.” Ryosuke rolls his eyes.

Two characters are allowed to get “married” in the game if they want, but it takes gold, meaning real money for a fake in game wedding. There was hardly a point to it, scamming people that find "love" in the game.

“What if he does?” Daiki asks.

“Are there even any benefits to getting married other than unlocking the couples only dungeon?”

“Your character profile gets a cute little heart?”

“So there’s no point!” Ryosuke concluded.

“But what if Yuttikku pays for it?”

“Chi, what did you just call him?” Ryosuke raised an eyebrow, not sure if he heard it right, knowing that Daiki also messed up his name earlier.

“Yujikku?”

“No you said something weird it sounded like-”

“Look he’s trying to get your attention in the game.” Daiki interrupts.

Ryosuke looks back at the game, Yujikku having spammed the chat with question marks.

_Yujikku: ???????_

_WHAT DOES YOUR SILENCE MEAN???_

_Kurusuke: NO WE’RE NOT GETTING FRIENDSHIP RINGS_

_Yujikku: BOO T-T_

_Sabonen: Asfdasd you two are cute_

_I don't know how you guys aren't a couple yet_

_Kurusuke: WE’RE JUST ONLINE FRIENDS_

_Sabonen: You two are already so close_

_I feel like I’m you two’s devil child_

_Yujikku: Let’s take a family photo!_

_Daikingu can be our adopted son_

_Kurusuke: THIS IS A WEIRD FAMILY????_

_Sabonen: Hehe_

_Yujikku: Hey, since we’re all here, wanna do some trials?_

_Kurusuke: SURE_

_Daikingu: WHY IS YOUR CAPS LOCK STILL ON_

_Kurusuke: SORRY_

_Sabonen: Can we invite Yuyaseba too?_

_Yujikku: He’s not online though_

_Sabonen: I messaged him on discord already :)_

_Kurusuke: When did you get his discord??_

_And how??_

_Sabonen: Last week?_

_We’re friends now~_

_He’ll be logging on right about..._

_Yuyaseba has logged on_

_Sabonen: Now_

_Daikingu: HE ACTUALLY LOGGED ON EXACTLY WHEN YOU SAID IT_

_Yuyaseba: I’m ready invite me to the party_

_Kurusuke: Not even a hi_

_I nominate Yujik as party leader :P_

_Yujikku: Fine…_

_Okay are we all ready?_

_Kurusuke: WAIT_

_WHERE’S MY INVITE_

_Yujikku: Looks like everyone is ready?_

_Kurusuke: INVITE ME_

_Sabonen: Hurry let’s start~_

_Daikingu: Go go_

_Yuyaseba: Ah we started already_

_Kurusuke: YUJIKKU YOU BASTARD_

_Yujikku: :P_

_I love you_

_Kurusuke: Yeah sure you do_

As Ryosuke waits impatiently until his friends finish the current dungeon without him, he is happy that Yujikku returned, their lives continuing as they were before they were separated. Yujikku has had more free time lately, allowing them to play more after he gets off work.

He hasn’t eaten dinner yet, but he was too into playing the game to stop now, especially since they were all together, even Yuyaseba was in the party. This exact party was when he had first met Yujikku by chance, evolving into an online friendship that he loves and enjoys. He felt like this before when he first met Chinen and Daiki in another game, grateful they became such close friends. It was a dream to meet them in real life, happy that they still do.

Now Yujikku feels like part of their group somehow, joining them for dungeons often, even though he isn’t in their Chibis guild and apparently 178 cm in real life. Sometimes the other members of Kemono play with them as well, Ryosuke feeling happy to have met so many great people through gaming.

Games are great for connecting people and friends that real life may not bring together.

~~~

Yuto stretches in his chair, glancing at the clock reading past midnight. He got too absorbed in playing games with his friends that he forgot he needed to finish up an assignment for tomorrow. 

It might not have been possible to finish on time, but luckily Ryosuke had done the beta testing and corrected some of his mistakes when he adamantly stayed for extra overtime just as he had been doing more recently for no apparent reason. Yuto managed to raise his pay check but Ryosuke wasn’t too concerned about getting paid despite having to work extra hours.

Yuto was only joking when he implied Ryosuke could help him, wanting to see if he would take his challenge, surprised when the elder quietly did his work. Even though he liked challenging him and seeing him pout, he felt a little bad for making him work extra. In the end, Yuto didn’t question it because he hated to admit he did need the help and appreciates him for willingly staying.

Yamada Ryosuke...

Yuto has been confused about him, noticing they’ve been talking more to each other lately. He figured early on that Ryosuke hated talking to him, so now that he’s initiating conversation more, it’s throwing him off. His jaw had dropped when Ryosuke asked him to go out for dinner together after finishing up work. They keep meeting when he least expects it, not sure why he gravitates to him. But he doesn't think he minds, almost seeking him out now out of curiosity.

He missed talking to Ryosuke when he was away, lucky to have run into him at the arcade, which was exciting. He dragged him to games he wouldn’t normally touch when he goes with Yuya, playing every competitive game they can find. He especially enjoyed their Tetris battle to see who could score higher while only using one hand to play.

It makes him happier that Ryosuke’s been taking the step to get closer to him, though a part of him hesitates, feeling guilty for using him and abusing him. But he couldn’t help himself but go far with pushing him, realizing that Ryosuke will take on whatever he can to get what he wants, Yuto knowing he was part of the fuel for some reason.

But spending all this time with him has been messing with him lately, wanting Ryosuke to like him instead of hating him, wondering if Ryosuke’s feelings towards him have been changing and that’s why he’s been communicating with him more.

He’s always thought Ryosuke felt different to him, special to him, wanting to get closer to him. He thinks Ryosuke is genuinely beautiful, wanting to list off every flawless piece of him that he wants a photo of, excited that he actually agreed to model for him since he doubted himself.

Yuto sighs, unable to stop thinking about the time he nearly kissed him at the store without thinking properly, his lips far too tempting. Usually Ryosuke would push him away but he didn’t, and he’s certain he saw his shoulders fall when he didn’t kiss him because of Yuto’s fear of being caught. It would have been bad for the both of them, Ryosuke would hate him forever.

And Yuto would succumb to his own feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thank you for reading 💕  
> The poor boys~


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for a little sexual content

" _ Next week _ ."

Ryosuke woke up to a text from Yuto, asking if it was fine to hold their photo shoot by a small park exactly a week from today, on Ryosuke’s free day. He agreed, but wishes it were sooner, unable to stop thinking about how he should act, how he should pose, what he should wear, his hair style, makeup… the list goes on and on. Yuto said to leave it to him but he can’t help but feel anxious that he’ll mess something up. It would be in public in daylight so he knows he has to be extra careful in case Yuto's cover is blown.

But he knows they won't do anything… revealing.

"Uh Ryosuke, how did you die by that?"

Chinen's voice brought him back to reality, blinking at his computer screen, his character's tombstone glaring back. He spent the whole day playing video games with his friends, losing track of time as he always does.

"Sorry, got distracted again." Ryosuke sighs, shaking away his thoughts. "I told myself I would go grocery shopping for dinner so I’m just going to head off while I’m not focused."

“Can’t you stay in and order delivery or something?”

“As good as that sounds, I’m craving curry so I’m cooking." he responds, pulling out the list of ingredients he needs.

"Curry? Someone watched Yuto's latest video didn't he?" Daiki teased.

"I can make much better curry from scratch than… whatever he did." not bothering to deny. “How can someone like him be so dumb in the kitchen? He’s useless.”

Yuto's video from last night was... an attempt at curry and while it was somehow a success, it pained Ryosuke's cooking heart watching him make beginner mistakes, surprised he didn’t burn down his house.

_ Sabonen: Kurusuke is being a jerk and is going to leave us, Yujikku can you convince him to stay :( _

_ Yujikku: Aw why is he leaving? :( _

_ Stay pleaseee _

_ Kurusuke: Just for a bit so I can cook dinner _

_ Yujikku: Order delivery _

_ Daikingu: Even Yujikku is saying order delivery _

_ It’s a sign _

_ Kurusuke: Nah _

_ Yujikku: I should order food too actually _

_ Kurusuke: You better eat Yujik >:( _

_ I’ll be back later though! Bye~ _

Ryosuke says goodbye, pulling on his jacket and heading out right away so he can return quickly as it’ll take time to cook before he can eat. It was starting to get dark out, but it was peaceful outside, the cool wind feeling nice against his face. The grocery store isn't far, a bit of walking and a short bus ride away, and the fresh air helped clear his mind.

“Yama-chan?”

As he arrives at the store, Ryosuke notices Yuto in a cap jogging towards him.

“Yuto-kun! What are you doing here?”

“Thinking about what I should do for dinner, you?” he replies.

“I’m buying ingredients for curry.”

Yuto’s eyes widened.

“Curry? I had curry recently but I could always eat more. You're good at cooking, right?"

“Yeah, I could make some for you.” Ryosuke says without thinking, but he was unable to take it back as Yuto’s eyes sparkled.

“Really, Yama-chan? You’d cook for me?” he jumped closer to him taking his hands in his.

“Uh, yeah…" he shakes him off. "You can come inside the store with me?”

This would be the first time he lets Yuto try his cooking, his hands sweating. Even when he pouted for a bite with wide puppy eyes Ryosuke was adamant. He wishes it were some fancier meal, but he couldn't take back his word now. It would be a great way for him to show off his skills compared to what Yuto showed in his video.

“I was going to order delivery but I’m lucky my friends told me to go out to the store for dinner tonight.” Yuto cheers, following him into the store like an excited puppy.

He’s pretty lucky for his friends telling that to him as well.

They enter the store, Ryosuke knowing the exact ingredients he needs for the dish, but he wanted to appeal to Yuto’s taste, taking time to ask what he prefers and making mental adjustments to bring out the best flavors. He wonders how much Yuto can eat being so skinny, trying to measure all the ingredients in his head. When they finally were able to pay, he didn’t realize he bought more than what they needed for the two of them, Yuto gladly chipping in.

As they left the store, rain was falling.

“The sky was clear when I left! How was I supposed to know it was going to rain?” Ryosuke wailed, cursing the sky.

“My place isn’t far of a walk, if you want to come over?” Yuto suggests, pulling out his own umbrella. “Unless you feel more comfortable cooking at your place I don’t mind.”

Ryosuke’s heart skips a beat, he was being invited to Yuto’s place? While he would feel more comfortable in his own kitchen, he was curious.

Plus walking in the rain back to his place didn’t sound fun.

“Your place is fine.”

Yuto grins.

“Alright, let’s go then, shall we?”

~~~

“Aaah I’m soaked!” Ryosuke cries in despair as they step inside Yuto’s apartment, shaking his hair from water.

“Hey! You’re getting things wet! It would have been fine if you just stayed under the umbrella like I said.” Yuto frowned. “Stay here for a moment, I’ll grab you a towel.” he disappears, leaving him near the door, dripping from the rain.

It was fine being under the same umbrella for about 30 seconds before Ryosuke felt like he was going to explode, jumping away despite Yuto protesting.

He inhales, the room smelling like Yuto obviously, but it felt homey and it warmed him up, giving him comfort from the chilly rain. It was bigger than his place and much more elegant, decorations giving the entrance life.

“Do you want to take a warm shower first?” Yuto returned shortly with a towel.

Ryosuke blinks.

Taking a shower… at Yuto’s place?

Using Yuto’s shower? 

“Uh, sure, that sounds... great.”

“Cool, just leave your jacket on that hook there and follow me.”

Ryosuke does that, letting Yuto lead him to his bathroom, showing him how to use it and letting the water heat up before he uses it.

“I’m going to clean up my kitchen while you wash up, so um. Take your time.” Yuto laughs, closing the door behind him.

He feels a little nervous, inspecting the organized bathroom, noticing tons of skincare supplies, hesitating as he removes his damp clothes in the unfamiliar place. He shivers once he’s fully naked, his skin wet from the cold rain, and steps into the stream of warm water, closing his eyes and sighing as it hits his skin, relaxing instantly. He opens his eyes and his gaze falls on a bottle.

Yuto’s shampoo.

… Why not?

He squirts some shampoo in his hand and massages it into his scalp, filling the small space with the lovely floral scent that he’s become familiar with. It wraps around him and comforts him to no end, as if Yuto were here with him.

Yuto.

“Yama-chan?”

He jumps, hearing his name being called, a little muffled because of the water, instinctively covering his chest… then his lower parts. The fact that he’s naked in Yuto’s shower hits him, the thought of Yuto being close by made his head spin.

“Yes?” he calls back.

“I’m going to leave some clothes for you outside the door so you can change into them once you finish, okay?”

“Thanks, Yuto-kun, I’ll be out in a bit.”

“Okay!”

He quickly throws on conditioner to wrap up his shower, feeling a little too warm now, drying himself off once he turns the water off. He cracks open the door, realizing it wasn’t even locked, to retrieve the clothes Yuto left, glancing around to see if he was on the other side.

Of course he wasn’t.

He holds up the clothes, boxers, shorts, and a large oversized t-shirt that came down to his knees. But he didn’t have his own, so he threw on the clothes, closing his eyes as he inhaled deeply, the shirt smelling a bit like Yuto. Warm and comforting. The shirt was so big on him that it covered the shorts he was wearing that only went to his mid thighs, making it seem like he wasn’t wearing pants at all.

He walks out, nervously heading over to the kitchen where Yuto was facing away from him, washing a pot.

“Thanks for letting me use your shower.” he says, fingers playing with the hem of the shirt.

“Sorry those old clothes were all I had since I need to do laundry-” Yuto turns and pauses when he takes a look at Ryosuke, his eyes scanning his body, making him feel insecure. “Looks cute on you.” he turns to continue washing the pot.

“Th-thank you.”

If Ryosuke wasn’t red enough before, he is now.

“I washed all the vegetables and I can cut them while you do all that other fancy stuff?” Yuto points at the ingredients.

“Yeah, sure.”

That’s right, the main reason he was here is to cook dinner.

Although Yuto said he would handle the vegetables, he wasn’t cutting them how Ryosuke wanted them, so he ended up doing it himself, allowing Yuto to handle cooking the rice, knowing he can’t possibly mess that up.

As he watched the curry simmer, he glanced over at Yuto sitting on the couch, on his phone.

He focuses on the curry, wanting to put his all into it and make it perfect.

~~~

“This looks and smells so enticing.” Yuto gasps at the curry rice, almost drooling.

Yuto takes out a camera, shooting several photos from different angles. He even took a photo or two of him sitting across the table, almost catching him off guard, but he’s not surprised at this point.

"That's enough photos, Yuto-kun, just try it already."

"I could take 100 photos of something and still not have a single good one, so I better take a lot while it’s fresh." Yuto defended, still taking more photos.

"Okay photography nerd."

“Thank you for the meal!” Yuto finally places his camera down, picking up his spoon to scoop some of the curry and rice up, placing it in his mouth, eyes closed as he chews slowly and thoughtfully.

Ryosuke watches him, his fingers tapping on the table, waiting.

“Oh no.” Yuto gasps again, covering his mouth with a hand, eyes wide. “Yamada…”

Ryosuke perks up.

“This has to be the best curry I’ve ever eaten in my life.” Yuto grins, eating another spoonful. “It’s delicious!”

“Oh thank God, you scared me for a second.” Ryosuke releases the breath he didn’t know he was holding, taking a bite off his own plate, pleased with the flavors, with just the perfect amount of spice on his tongue.

Food always tastes better when you’re with someone, especially when they’re happy with it.

"It's at least 10 times better than what I can ever make." Yuto approved.

"It can't be that good… well maybe." Ryosuke blushes at the compliment, but he remembers how the curry he made in his video looked, agreeing silently.

He watches Yuto raise his spoon to his mouth again, paying attention to the way his lips part and close around the utensil, letting it stay in his mouth for a second before slowly pulling it back, his sharp jawline moving as he chews and enjoys the food.

“Is there something wrong, Yama-chan?”

Ryosuke snaps out of his trance, realizing Yuto was facing him with concern, his head slightly cocked cutely to the side.

“It’s nothing, it’s still very hot.” he blows on his spoon before taking another bite.

“Hot like something else.”

“W-what?” Ryosuke stutters, feeling a blush creeping up.

“Yeah, I burned my tongue on the tea before we started eating, and it still hurts.” he stuck his tongue out.

The tea.

The hot tea.

“O-oh. Yeah, the tea is quite hot too.” Ryosuke forces a laugh.

Pull yourself together, Ryosuke, he tells himself.

They avoid talking about work, ending up talking about games even after they finish eating, Yuto had bought the fighting game they played together when they met at the mall, both getting up to take a look at Yuto’s game console. It was a limited edition Animal Crossing design that Ryosuke had wanted, his face in awe, planning ways to steal it from him.

“Yuya has been helping me practice lately, so I bet I can kick your ass now.” Yuto messages him his friend code so they can play online together later. "The guy with me when we were at the arcade." he clarifies at Ryosuke’s blank face.

“You guys hang out often?” Ryosuke hums, wondering how often they talk and meet up.

Even he had to admit that man was handsome.

“Mhm, we’re close.” Yuto confirms. “We met online through a game and we found out that we didn’t live too far apart."

“Oh that’s what happened to Me, Chinen, and Dai-chan! The two who were with me that day.” Ryosuke laughs. “Coincidences, huh?” 

"Yeah, coincidences." Yuto agrees as he hangs his head over the couch. "He's cool and has a beautiful voice. Not to mention how sexy he is in person."

"You like him, huh?" Ryosuke tries not to sound disappointed. “Was that who you were thinking of when I asked you if you were interested in dating someone?"

"I used to have an internet crush on him." Yuto chuckles a bit. "But no, there’s someone else. Although..." he trails off, turning his head towards him. 

Internet crush? Kinda like Yujikku...

"Although?"

"I'm too busy to date." he turns away quickly. “I’ll go and clean up.” standing and heading back to the table for the dishes.

“I can’t let you do that, I made most of the mess so allow me.”

“You’re my guest here.” Yuto frowns. “Rock paper scissors for it?”

Ryosuke giggles at the childish compromise, going along with it.

“Yes! I win!” Ryosuke raises his peace sign in the air, triumphantly. 

Yuto laughs holding up his palm.

“I didn’t think someone would be this excited about doing the dishes.”

“I find it calming.” Ryosuke says as he collects the plates and brings them to the sink. “You go ahead and sit and… look pretty or something.”

“I think I’m okay at that.” Yuto says smugly. “Actually, I’m going to take a quick shower while you do that.”

Ryosuke nods, watching Yuto head off.

He’s humming a tune as he washes the dishes, relieved at how well dinner went. Cooking is one of his passions and he especially loved when he cooked for others. He wanted to talk to Yuto more about games, getting excited when he heard footsteps coming closer.

“Welcome back-” his words were cut off when arms wrapped around his torso, a chin placed on top of his head. “Yu-Yuto-kun?” he stutters, the abrupt contact freezing him. “What are you…?”

Yuto’s skin radiates heat from his shower, hair slightly damp, a drop of water falling onto his neck making him flinch. The smell of shampoo and  _ Yuto _ is overpowering, dizzying him with having his scent so close.

“Hmm? Sorry your hair just looks fluffier and softer than usual and I just had to feel it.” Yuto replies, squeezing his body closer. “I know you don’t like me touching you so if I could just have a few moments...”

Whenever Yuto did anything like ruffling his hair, Ryosuke’s first instinct was to swat him away, but a hug from behind was new and his brain short circuit, the sensations driving him crazy.

“It’s fine… this time.”

“Really? Thank goodness, I’ve always wanted to do this…” Yuto nuzzles his cheek into his hair, feeling him take a long inhale. “You used my shampoo?”

“Yeah, is that… Is that okay?”

“Mhm, I was just thinking how lovely it smells on you.” Yuto mumbles against him, his lips on his hair. "Do you want a bottle?"

"Sure." he flushes, unable to say no. He was thinking of buying one for himself later anyways.

First unknowingly sharing colognes and now shampoo...

Time stops for a while, Ryosuke’s heart beating so loud he’s worried that Yuto can hear or feel it, trying to leap out.

“Yuto-kun?” Ryosuke’s voice came out higher than he expected, trying to keep it steady.

"Sorry was that too much?" Yuto lets go of him, spinning him around so they face each other, Yuto leaning over him.

"No that's not it, it-it was," He splutters, twiddling his thumbs. "It was... nice? Like comforting? And it was warm and I don’t actually mind it much anymore when you touch my hair and stuff, except not in public where others can catch us but it’s fine now and-" he rambled on, but he’s cut short as a hand cups his cheek, squeezing gently.

"They're still as soft as I remember." Yuto mumbles. "But are you losing weight? Are you eating well?"

"I'm fine." Ryosuke squeaks, letting Yuto cup his face, his heart rising in his chest.

"Yamada..." Yuto whispered, sending chills down his spine. "There's something else I've been wanting to do for awhile."

Ryosuke gulped, willing his heart to slow down and his body to stop trembling.

“That is?"

"I know I shouldn't." Yuto murmured, leaning closer. "But you really are beautiful."

“But how am I beautiful when there’s you?”

Yuto’s eyes widened for a split second, his lips parting as if to say something but nothing came out. Instead, Ryosuke’s eyes follow his tongue as it darts out to wet them, unconsciously doing the same.

"Your lips are always so tempting.” Yuto murmurs, a thumb tracing the corner of his lips. “So red and soft… It always takes every fiber of me to hold back.”

"Then what are you waiting for?" it was meant to be more challenging, but he quivered, swallowing.

“Nothing is going to stop me this time, you know." Yuto furrows his brows.

How many times have they been in this situation only for Ryosuke to be disappointed?

Is it a bad idea? A good idea?

All Ryosuke knows he wants it now.

"It’s fine… to not hold back."

Ryosuke lets Yuto set the pace, though agonizingly slow. His eyes flutter close like he's done before, their bodies touching, waiting, waiting, as he feels a heated breath on his lips. He parts them, feeling the ghosting of lips near his, tickling him. Hair tickling his forehead. A slight brush of nose. The thought that Yuto was going to stop there or pull away again flashed past his mind.

But then there was sweet, sweet pressure.

God. Finally.

It was gentle, warm, and everything Ryosuke could ever want in this moment. A weight lifted from his shoulders, his longing for this small intimate touch being satisfied. Just two pairs of lips tenderly pressed together. Simple, but it blew Ryosuke’s mind that this was happening, all the months of teasing worth this light touch.

Kissing Nakajima Yuto.

It goes by too quickly, Yuto pulling away first, but only enough so they could still feel each other’s quick, uneven breaths. They don't say anything for long moments, gazing and reading into each other’s dark eyes, faces slightly flushed. Ryosuke wonders if he should initiate another kiss, sensing a kind of desire from Yuto, but the taller pulls away, feeling chills with Yuto’s warmth gone.

Ryosuke almost collapses there, his legs feeling weak as he holds himself up by the sink, brain racing miles per second, struggling to take in what happened as Yuto moved away, both of them quiet. How long did that kiss last for? A few seconds? 10? A minute?

But all he knew, it wasn’t enough, he wanted more, knew that Yuto wanted more too, wondering how long he wanted to do that for, what else he wanted to do.

Why didn't he notice this sooner?

“Do you want me to take some photos of you?” Yuto finally speaks pointing at a camera, seemingly pushing away the kiss like it never happened.

Did it even happen? Did he just imagine it?

“I thought that was next week?” Ryosuke surprisingly gets out fairly normally, mentally blanked.

“Do you need to get home soon?”

“Well no…”

“Then we both have time right now, right?” Yuto shrugs. “Nothing is here to stop us.”

Nothing is going to stop them.

Ryosuke agrees since he can’t wait a whole week anyways, wanting his photos to be taken by Yuto as soon as possible. He waits while Yuto picks up the camera, clicking some buttons. The downtime let him study himself with his phone camera, checking if he looked decent enough, having not planned for this tonight. His face was still pink, fanning himself to get rid of the heat he was feeling.

“What kind of photos are you thinking of?” Ryosuke asks when Yuto points the camera at him. 

“Just relax naturally and let’s see how it goes?” Yuto suggests, moving to the couch and patting it to get him to sit there. “I need to adjust the settings anyways.”

Relaxing wasn't on Ryosuke's list of easy tasks at the moment, feeling awkward and jittery with Yuto watching him like this, moving to different angles. He simulated this in his mind multiple times, but it didn’t mentally prepare him enough.

Especially after that kiss that's going to be on his mind for ages. He licks his lips as the moment replays in his head, the sensation still fresh in his mind. He wants another one, but didn’t want to push for it as the topic changed already. It’s not like they’re dating and he could just kiss him anytime he wants.

"You're stiff." Yuto frowns. "You don't have to look at the camera, turn your face a little to the right… yeah like that. Unclench your jaw. Relax your shoulders."

Ryosuke listens to the camera clicking every few seconds, itching to see they’re coming out. Yuto keeps giving him tips and he follows them without hesitation, trusting his judgement.

"That's right, keep breathing slowly. See you're getting the hang of it already."

Easier said than done.

"Isn't this a bit much for warm-ups?" Ryosuke asks after a bit, relaxing a bit since they started.

"Sorry, you looked good already so I couldn't stop." Yuto says sheepishly. "Was there something specific you wanted to do?"

Ryosuke blushes, that one idea on his mind ever since Yuto mentioned it. It was thrown out the window when Yuto mentioned a public shoot, but right now they were in the comforts of Yuto's private home. He’s never done it before, but he was willing to try it if Yuto was the photographer.

“I'm curious about one of your ideas you mentioned." Ryosuke says carefully.

Yuto raised an eyebrow.

"Refresh me?"

Ryosuke swallowed. 

"The one where you said… would need less… materials."

Yuto hummed, biting his bottom lip, eying his body. He becomes aware of his clothes, his shirt pooled at his hips, forgetting that he was wearing loose shorts, hardly covering his thighs as he sat on the couch.

"We could try something sexy."

Ryosuke blushes, hearing it out loud from Yuto like that. He stays quiet as Yuto clicks some more buttons on the camera, changing the settings again before examining him, a finger tapping on his lips. The atmosphere seemed heavier, more serious.

“Should I… take my shirt off?” Ryosuke asks, unsure of how far he was supposed to go.

“You don’t need to.” Yuto responds, the new slight huskiness making him shiver. “Can you pull it down though? Show your collar bones."

Ryosuke obeys, easily pulling his shirt down over one shoulder thanks to Yuto’s oversized t-shirt, feeling awkward about showing some skin, even though he was the one who asked for this. This is only the beginning, he knows, but his heart sped up as he thought about what would be next, if Yuto will ask him to show even more. Perhaps even take his shirt off. His hand falls to his elbow gazing towards the camera, silently asking if this was okay.

But Yuto nods and praises him, telling him that he was doing it perfectly, telling him he’s pretty like that, making him feel embarrassed about himself again, nervously chuckling. He turns his head to the side so he can focus on something other than Yuto.

“Right there, your neck is beautiful.”

Curious, he stretches his neck more, exposing more skin to give Yuto better access for a few photos before starting to trace his fingers on his neck slowly, feeling each dip, thinking he’s doing something right.

“I want to see more of your skin… I want to touch it.” Yuto murmurs, taking a step closer, focused on his neck.

Yuto keeps complimenting his skin, telling him how soft it looks, how nice it looks, how good  _ he  _ looks. He’s not sure if Yuto was just saying those words to get him more into it, but he chose to believe in them because it’s working, starting to get into the mood and more confident in himself, feeling somewhat pretty. He likes what Yuto's photographs do to him, it makes him feel good. Exhaling, he closes his eyes, bringing his legs up on the couch, leaning forward slightly to rest his elbows on his knees, his hands at his mouth.

“Oh?” Yuto hummed. “Something switched in your mind? Try thinking of something hot.”

“Hot?”

Ryosuke just barely opens his eyes, falling on Yuto.

Yuto raises an eyebrow but continues to watch through the lens, taking photos every so often.

Ryosuke drags a finger slowly along his lips, the sensations of the kiss flooding back. It was a sweet, gentle kiss, but he twisted it in his head, pretending that it was rougher, more sensual with greater intentions. He focused on Yuto past the camera, his eyes on his lips, the flicker of his tongue. Ryosuke follows, his own tongue running across his lips. He wants Yuto’s mouth on his almost desperately, craving another kiss or anything from Yuto.

Anything.

“You look hot, Yamada.”

It made him crave more, ideas forming in his head.

Running a hand across his chest, he watched Yuto’s fingers click the camera, imagining those hands touching him, those long fingers caressing him, squeezing him. More. The warm touch from earlier when he was fresh out of his shower, skin damp, like it was a thin layer of sweat pressed against him. Now he wishes his shirt was off, skin feeling sensitive, but he waits for Yuto to give him the call.

His eyes lower down Yuto’s body, letting his mind wander further, further, as he traces what’s under his shirt. The covered up muscles despite being skinny, his arms strong from drumming. There's been shirtless photos of Yuto on social media before, so he has a somewhat decent sense of his body, imagining both of them shirtless.

He raises a hand to mess up his hair slightly, going for a more wild image as he plays with his locks. Lowering one leg and spreading them slightly, he lowers his other hand to touch the revealed skin of his thighs, accidentally brushing against his crotch, shivering from sensitivity as he slowly caresses his skin.

"Lie on your back for me." Yuto instructs in a low voice after a while.

Ryosuke likes that tone.

A few photos were taken from the side before Yuto came closer, climbing onto the couch with him, leaning over him and fitting a leg between his thighs.

"Get some good shots with this angle." Yuto mumbled, scanning him without the camera.

“Fuck.” Ryosuke breathed out, feeling Yuto's warmth hovering above his thigh.

The position took Ryosuke’s breath away with Yuto over him, admiring how Yuto's eyes followed his every movement as he slowly exposed his shoulder again, noticing how Yuto's fingers twitched. It made him feel hot, sexy, just like he wanted.

Then the camera came back into view, covering part of Yuto's face.

Ryosuke begins playing with his lips again, an eye falling into a wink, and now that Yuto was closer to him, he could see that Yuto swallowed, his Adam's apple moving.

"Pull up your shirt a bit to show your stomach." another low command.

Ryosuke follows, hesitating to show more skin but seeing how Yuto was gazing at him with such… desire makes him do it, pulling it up enough to reveal his chest. Yuto lowers the camera slightly, gawking at his body directly again. Yuto starts to reach towards his body, hoping that he would touch him, but he stops, clutching onto the camera.

"Is this too much?" He turns his head on his side, biting his lip as he curses how his voice was obviously hoarser.

"No, that’s perfect, you’re beautiful." Yuto breathes out, raising the camera again and clicking away. “Fuck, your muscles...”

Ryosuke parts his lips slightly, slowly releasing a breath. Yuto whispered another “fuck” and he gained more confidence, felt hotter, his eyes half closed as he peered into the camera, knowing Yuto’s eyes were fixed on him. He drags a finger up his exposed body, flinching a bit but continued, loving how Yuto swallowed again.

“Touch a nipple." Yuto’s voice became a little unsteady.

That’s what Ryosuke wanted, smirking as he carefully pinches a nipple, holding back a whimper, rolling the hardened nub between two fingers. Yuto shifted slightly, the fabric of his pants rubbing against his bare thighs, his knee just by his crotch, wanting it closer. He knows this isn't the time to get aroused, but he couldn't help it, his mind far too deep, Yuto basically on top of him, shirt up with hardly any pants and now playing with his nipples. All while Yuto gives him attention, praising him.

“Yuto...” Ryosuke purred, moving his hand to play with his other nipple, forming a plan in his head.

“You…” Yuto lowers the camera. “Your eyes... changed. You’re thinking of me, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.” Ryosuke admits, too lost to feel embarrassed. “I want you.”

"Oh my God Yamada." Yuto whispers.

Yuto doesn't bring the camera back up, his eyes watching as Ryosuke continues to touch his own body.

"Do you do these kinds of shoots often?" Ryosuke asked, trying to keep his voice even as he wills himself to follow his plan.

"Not often." Yuto responds after a moment. "But... I've done nude shots before."

Completely naked for Yuto, lying down exposed for him. He imagines it, curious in what he does with the photos afterwards.

What will he do with these photos?

“Does…" Ryosuke swallowed. "Does this happen afterwards?” he reaches up, taking Yuto's shirt and pulling him down, connecting their lips.

The spark felt so good.

After a few brief touches, Yuto pulls away, breathing harder. 

“Sometimes.” Yuto quickly answers before leaning back down to kiss him again, shocking him with more force.

After recovering from being caught off guard, he wraps his arms around Yuto's neck, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss. He vaguely feels Yuto dropping off his camera on the table beside them, using his now free hands to caress him, one on his side and one on his thigh, gently massaging his skin, tingling, burning where Yuto touched.

His mind spun, heat surrounding him as Yuto’s lips captured his, so different from the gentle kiss they shared for the first time not long ago, now open mouthed and desperate. The mood had changed so fast, both their desires being let out at once as they kissed hungrily.

Yuto pulled away from his mouth, attacking his neck with a trail of kisses and gentle bites. Ryosuke holds back a moan as Yuto nips at a sensitive spot, his hips twitched once, scratching Yuto through his shirt.

Oh God. Now  _ this _ is what he wanted this whole time.

Yuto's hand on his thigh moves to cup his butt.

"Yes, fuck yes, Yuto." Ryosuke says breathlessly as Yuto gives a soft squeeze.

That's when Yuto stops, just breathing quickly on his neck. Ryosuke tries to encourage him to go further but Yuto pulls away completely, letting his body go. 

"W-we shouldn't do this." Yuto muttered.

"No one is going to stop us." Ryosuke tried, still hopeful, but he sat up.

"Fuck, Yamada." Yuto runs a hand through his own hair. "I'm your boss, you're my employee, I can't be fucking you. If someone finds out it'll be over for the both of us."

“They won’t find out.” even though Ryosuke knew he was right, he still craved it, not caring if it was against company rules or frowned upon in society.

But he did have to respect it.

Yuto shook his head, just as conflicted but he sighed deeply, heading over to the window, gazing out. Ryosuke’s breathing is still uneven, struggling to grasp the situation, heart and mind racing, feeling like a disaster.

Damn it.

"It stopped raining." Yuto finally says softly, turning back to him. "You might want to head back to yours now, we have work tomorrow anyways."

There was a tang of disappointment but Ryosuke shoved it down, agreeing reluctantly.

It was awkward as Yuto handed Ryosuke back his clothes that were previously soaked, now washed and dry. He was also given an unopened bottle of his shampoo. He changed back into his clothes reluctantly, handing the borrowed clothes back to Yuto.

"You looked cute in my clothes." Yuto says absentmindedly.

"Thank you for letting me stay over, Yuto-kun." Ryosuke bows slightly, unsure how to respond to his comment, the word ‘cute’ ringing through his head after being told he was ‘hot’ earlier.

"I should be thanking you for coming over and cooking for me." Yuto counters. 

"Don't forget there's some leftovers in your fridge." Ryosuke forces a smile. “We're still on for… photo shooting next week like we planned?” he asks, afraid that this would be the only time Yuto would do one with him but Yuto quickly nodded.

“We’ll do something… more innocent this time.”

They both say goodbye as Ryosuke leaves, almost wishing that Yuto would call out his name again and ask him to stay. 

But he didn't.

~~~

His heart and mind were still confused as he arrives home, lying on his bed with his phone, apologizing to Chinen and Daiki for not returning like he said. They asked what happened, but he wasn’t even sure himself.

What was the meaning of tonight?

The meaning of… those kisses?

He can't stop thinking about the way Yuto kissed him, the way Yuto touched him, feathery strokes on his skin, squeezing. His breathing quickens, reliving the moments in his head, still fresh in his mind, placing his fingers on his lips. His heart pounds as he lowers his hand, caressing his body under his shirt like Yuto did, causing those tingles to return. He can't believe he got aroused in front of and under him like that, wondering if Yuto was too, unable to tell with his messy mind's state, wishing he had pushed his hips up against him. To feel him. His skin feels hot again, reaching further down and palming himself through his pants. It was easy for him, given the earlier situation, groaning as he took himself out his pants to properly stroke himself, his mind filled with only Yuto.

He imagines how it could have been like if Yuto didn't stop, his mind wandering quickly. How it would feel with Yuto above him both unclothed, skin pressed together, thrusting inside him. That lower tone he used with him made him feel hot.

Hot.

When he comes, he shudders as Yuto's name makes it past his lips in a whisper.

After calming himself down and cleaning up, feeling exhausted, he collapses back on his bed, opening YouTube to lull him to sleep, hardly able to think straight.

His finger hovers over a Yuto video, but his eye catches the video below, a new Kemono video of their latest raid. Yujikku pops into his mind, thinking that they resemble each other in a way that he can’t tell. He clicks on the video, resting his head on his pillow.

Listening to them speak was calming, especially Yujikku's voice. He's been unable to shake the idea that Yujikku's voice is similar to Yuto's, even though it was slightly deeper. The way Yuto spoke to him in his lower tone today resembled it even more. He knows that Yujikku denied it, but they speak with the same intonations, the same use of words.

He knows that voice.

But he can’t think right now, drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's about time they finally kiss!! And finally the spicier parts are going to start showing more in the next chapters, just throwing it out there 🙊😊 
> 
> I never tried adding photos to fics before but that scene deserves some visuals 😘 I hope they made it better even though they don't match completely?


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning for a little sexual content

Ryosuke is certain that Yuto is avoiding him today at work, hardly making eye contact with him. The two of them tense when they must speak to each other, conversations short and to the point. Oftentimes, Yuto receives gifts from his fangirls, sharing the sweets, but today there were none on Ryosuke’s desk, dampening his mood. He only observes as Yuto heads off with someone when their lunch break arrives, laughing over something he doesn’t know.

Normally he would have bit back from annoyance that Yuto was ignoring him, but after last night it's understandable that the atmosphere would be awkward, unable to talk about it in public and there’s work to do, where private life is supposed to be separate.

He has no idea how to bring up the events from less than 24 hours ago, his brain still scattered. Too much happened in a blur and Ryosuke couldn’t process it all. None of that was on his list to do that night, it was supposed to be a quick run to the store, cooking for himself, and playing more video games with his friends.

Yet instead he got Yuto. Nothing prepared him for what ended up happening in reality. He didn’t know how badly he wanted him until he was told to think of something hot, the first thing to pop into his head being Yuto. He knew he wanted him before that, but that was the moment he lost himself, relaxing himself in front of the camera, letting his thoughts run free. It escalated as the wall keeping him in control broke down, allowing his desires he pushed away to emerge. Yuto reciprocated his actions, kissing back when he pulled him down to meet him on the couch, hands on his body, so he excitedly continued.

But it ended just as quickly as it started.

It drove him wild, wanting Yuto more than ever after having that tiny taste. From the first kiss to the last, he felt that Yuto wanted him too, feeling passion and hunger in those kisses and touches. Yet Yuto stopped abruptly, leaving him confused. Ryosuke doesn’t want to force it onto him, but he can’t help being disappointed.

The least he could do is apologize.

Distractions kept his attention all day, eyes glued on Yuto, examining his black suit and tie, wondering if he's changed it recently. His clothing choices are always beautiful on him, but there was something different about him today. Well fit and pressed perfectly against his body, complimenting the sharpness of his face and movements, his long, sleek legs and-

“Why do you have two bento boxes?”

Ryosuke jumps as a coworker appears behind him, interrupting his thoughts for the better.

“No reason, just decided to make two today.” he shrugs.

“Are you going to eat it?”

“Yeah, later.” he mutters with a yawn, shoving the extra box in a drawer.

At least now he has dinner prepared.

When the day ended, he was relieved to have somehow finished his assignments on time, a new project given to him to plan. As everyone began to leave, he debated if he should stay for overtime, giving him a chance to speak with Yuto alone. As usual, he took his time packing up, waiting for the room to quiet down.

"Yamada. We need to talk."

Ryosuke gulps at the stern tone the moment the last person leaves, the door echoing throughout the room, turning to face Yuto, lips pursed and arms crossed.

"About?"

"Last night."

The events of last night flooded his head, his palms sweating, wondering how to start.

"What about last night?"

Yuto exhales, beginning to look uneasy, a rare look on him, but he takes his phone out, tapping it a few times before handing it to him.

"Trouble. It's better to just show you."

Confused, he takes it, not expecting a gossip website to be opened.

His heart drops as he reads the headline.

**_"Unknown person caught entering and leaving Yutomania’s apartment at night?"_ **

Ryosuke’s eyes narrow, hands shaking as he scrolls down the article, reading a blurb.

“ _ An unknown shorter person, seemingly male with short black hair, was found walking alongside Nakajima Yuto, also known as famous YouTuber “Yutomania”, last night at around 6 pm during the rain storm. Both of them were carrying groceries and headed to Yutomania’s apartment together. _

_ Their relationship is unknown but photos (below) show the two sharing an umbrella and being close, laughing and having a good time, with Yutomania pulling the unknown person for a hug.” _

The photos weren't clear since it was from the back and nearing evening, the rain helping to obscure the view, but they did depict them being closer than he remembers. One of the photos matched the description visually, though it wasn't fully accurate. The angle made it look like Yuto's arm was around his shoulders while their heads were facing each other like a hug, but in reality, it was when Yuto was simply reaching over to pull him under the umbrella so he doesn’t get wet from the rain.

“Oh my God.” Ryosuke swallows, skimming through the rest of the article, questioning who he was and what their relationship is.

It even noted an approximate time of how long he stayed there, shuddering at the thought of someone following him to his own home out of curiosity of his relationship with Yuto… not that he knows what that is in the first place.

"I'm lucky that people believe I only date girls, so most think you're just a friend." Yuto tapped his foot. “But there are some who think it’s suspicious because of those photos.”

“This is ridiculous!” Ryosuke tries to not raise his voice, waving the phone around. “It’s none of their business to know everyone you know privately. There’s people who know where you live and stalk you there? That's dangerous, what if they hurt you?”

“I know. But this isn’t about me.” Yuto leans over him. “I’m more worried about you.”

“Me?” Ryosuke says in disbelief.

"I’m used to it, and they won’t do anything to me.” Yuto explains. “But you've been harassed before. You need to be careful in case… someone jealous recognizes you.”

Ryosuke wanted to argue but he couldn’t think of any good counters, knowing that he was right. He had been able to stay low off the fangirls’ radars, but this could possibly spark something else if they pinpoint it to him somehow, knowing that some fans' detective skills are unnervingly scary. It’s possible that they already found out he’s familiar since they both work together multiple days a week.

"So what should I do now?" he asks, not sure if he could fix this problem.

"Go home now." Yuto says bluntly. "I might be able to handle it, pass it off as us being coworkers for now until…" he trails off. "Anyways, eyes might be on me more than usual, so it would be suspicious if they catch you leaving at the same time when I leave."

"But-"

"No buts, they could compare you to the photos' silhouettes."

“Fine.” Ryosuke feels defeated, agreeing that he’ll lie low for now, gathering his stuff and heading out.

As he leaves the building, he feels tense, anxious if someone is watching him, wondering if anyone knows him, if someone recognizes him. 

He hates it.

~~~

“Ryosuke, you’re killing me here.” Chinen says disapprovingly. “You two basically had a date at _his_ _apartment_ and you still couldn't confess?”

It turns out Chinen had seen the “scandal” on social media, confronting him about it as soon as he returned from work. Even though he never mentioned going to Yuto's apartment last night, Chinen insisted he had a feeling it was him, not that he's wrong. He trusts his friend enough to tell him what happened, the younger listening without interrupting.

“It wasn’t a date! We just happened to bump into each other and I accidentally mentioned I could cook for him and his place was closer.” Ryosuke hangs his head over his chair.

“An impromptu date at his apartment.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Ryosuke groans out loud.

“Chi you are so lucky you are not physically in front of me right now.” He glares hard at Chinen’s discord icon of a cactus. The voice call was only him and Chinen since Daiki was busy with work, but Ryosuke was feeling too antsy about Yuto to wait, promising he’ll tell him later.

“You’re evilly glaring at my cactus again, aren’t you?” came Chinen’s amused voice.

“Yes, do you feel it?” he glared harder.

"My soul is burning up oh no." Chinen replies in a monotone voice. 

“You don't even have… never mind.”

“But Ryosuke, jokes aside,” Chinen’s tone turned oddly serious. “This could be a turning point with the media talking about it. If Yuto initiated the first kiss and kissed back when you initiated it like you said, it confirms my suspicions that Yuto likes you, so it’s best for you to talk all this out as soon as possible.”

“Wait I thought you were joking this whole time, have you been talking to Yuto? Did you know he likes guys?”

“Honestly most of it was joking in the beginning but after a while I suspected something between you two, especially after meeting him in person. Also I’ve been talking to a friend of his.”

“You know one of Yuto’s friends? How? Who? Is it Takaki-kun from that day?”

“They have their privacy!" Chinen says quickly. “Anyways when you and Yuto have your date next Sunday-”

"A _ photo shoot _ ."

“Fine, your  _ photo shoot _ ,” he repeats. “Confess to him.”

“I… might?” Ryosuke suggests to make him happy, who just sighed.

“I guess that’s better than nothing.” Chinen slumps back half way through the sentence. “You two are literally destined to be together.”

“Isn’t that saying too much? Someone like… him and me? We just work together and got close somehow.”

“Oh Ryosuke, you’re so oblivious.” his friend sighs. “It’s innocently charming in a way.”

“I can’t tell if you’re insulting me or not...”

“It’s so cute seeing you interact with each other all the time.” Chinen elaborates. “You keep meeting him in places whether you expect it or not.”

“It’s not my fault that he keeps showing up wherever I am… You’ve only seen us interact once at the mall that one time, you only hear about the rest.”

“I look forward to the next time I get to see you two interact.”

Ryosuke hesitates, not sure if they’re still doing the photo shoot with the scandal out in the open. It wouldn’t be a good idea to have them out in the public like they planned. Even if they did meet up, he’s not sure if it’s right to confess.

But he at least needs to talk about what’s going to happen between them from now on.

“Yeah yeah, I get it. If I don’t you’ll probably put a curse on me or something.” Ryosuke makes a face.

“How do you know if I didn’t already?”

“I… would honestly not be surprised if you did.” Ryosuke rolls his eyes.

"I'll be waiting for the response~" a giggle.

"I just… I don't know what the mood is going to be like." he replies honestly. "What if he doesn't actually want to be with me and that's why he stopped?"

It seemed safe to assume a mutual sexual attraction towards the other, but the romantic part still has him confused on what Yuto felt towards him. They had a sweet kiss, but Ryosuke sensed desire from it, wondering if Yuto only had a sexual attraction towards him.

"I'm sure that he wouldn't have been wanting to hug and kiss you for awhile if he didn't want to be with you." Chinen says softly. "Don’t think about yourself like that.”

“Here I am forgetting that he’s my boss and then there’s him bringing it up so he doesn’t have to kiss me.” he groans.

Does he see him as simply employees after all?

“You want to kill monsters to take your mind off it for now?" Chinen suggests.

"I was waiting for when you'd ask."

The two get onto Jump Party, queuing up for a dungeon, trying to distract himself into playing the game. He was just about to enter one when a fancy paladin dashed up to his character, hitting him with an axe, followed by a priest in a similar outfit.

_ Yabunbun: It's Yujikku's small friend!! :D _

_ And other small friend! :DD _

_ Sabonen: I'm just the other small friend?? >:( _

_ Kurusuke: Hi Yabunbun and Piitan! _

_ Piitan: Wahoy! _

_ Where’s the other other small friend? _

_ Kurusuke: Omg Dai will have a fit if he hears that… he’s busy _

_ What are you two up to? _

_ Yabunbun: Piitan and I were doing dungeons together then I saw you two _

_ Do you guys want to team up? _

_ Sabonen: Sure!  _

They end up partying together, their team doing well despite having two healers, Ryosuke and Yabunbun dealing heavy damage to the waves of bosses. It was relaxing for Ryosuke to click buttons and watch the monster's health bars drop with every hit. Each slash, swing, and skill he used took off a bit of his stress and tension.

_ Piitan: You two really do have some matching accessories _

_ It's cute _

_ Kurusuke: I don't think we match anything, do we Sabonen? _

_ Sabonen: No? _

_ Piitan: Not you two, you and Yujikku _

_ Kurusuke: Oh _

_ Yeah, the weapon effect was a gift from months ago and the wings are new so of course he's wearing them _

_ Yabunbun: And the earrings?  _

_ Kurusuke: He's using my earrings too??  _

_ Piitan: You guys might as well get full matching outfits like me and Yabu _

_ Nbun _

_ Sabonen: THAT'S WHAT WE'VE ALL BEEN TELLING HIM _

_ Kurusuke: Why does everyone want us to have matching outfits?? _

_ Why do you two match? _

_ Yabunbun: Because we show our love by spoiling each other with cute outfits _

_ Kurusuke: … Love? _

_ Piitan: Well yeah _

_ Idk if you know but our Yujikku loves talking about you, he's so in love _

_ Sabonen: What a coincidence, our Kurusuke loves talking about him and is also in love _

_ Kurusuke: AM NOT _

_ Yabunbun: Maybe he likes you, that's how I got Piitan's attention ;)  _

_ Piitan: … He gifted me everything he got his hands on… even junk >< _

_ So much junk... _

_ Yabunbun: But you loved it <3 _

_ Piitan: … _

_ Yeah <3 _

_ Sabonen: Learning from the best couple first hand _

_ Kurusuke: WAIT  _

_ WTF _

_ YOU TWO ARE A COUPLE??? _

_ Yabunbun: We also live together  _

_ Kurusuke: WHAT REALLY  _

_ Piitan: Yeah we met online and started dating at some point  _

_ Sabonen: You didn't know that?? _

_ They're literally the parents of Kemono  _

_ Kurusuke: THAT'S WHY PEOPLE LOVE SEEING YOU PLAY TOGETHER _

_ Yabunbun: Yeaaah _

_ Anyways we should get going now  _

_ Be good to our Yujikku this week or else :) _

_ Kurusuke: Did something happen to him? _

_ I sent him a message earlier to play but he hasn't responded yet _

_ Yabunbun: Oh he didn't tell you yet? _

_ He got caught up in some stressful real life stuff and he has extra work this week :( _

_ Kurusuke: I hope it's not serious :( _

_ Piitan: He'll deal with it, it's happened before _

_ Good playing with you two, see you around _

"I didn't know those two were dating! That's cute!" Ryosuke grins as they say goodbye and watch them disappear. “Home dates where you just play games together? I need that in my life.” he sighs dreamily.

“Yuto plays games, remember? Another reason why he’s perfect.”

“I don’t think he’ll play a game like Jump Party, he’s probably into rhythm and indie games instead of mmos.” he waves him off.

“It might be easier than you think to get him into it. Then, what about Yujikku?”

“Are you talking about if I date Yujikku? I only know him from online, I can't imagine dating someone in a game."

"Yabunbun and Piitan did it?"

"Right... but just because we both say we love each other as friends doesn’t mean we want to date.” he stops, thinking about how overly-friendly they act around each other. “I guess honestly if I knew him in real life we would probably be real close, we share a ton of common interests and we’re both comfortable with each other.”

Over the months, he’s been looking forward to learning something new about his online friend, sharing music, games, and other forms of entertainment with the other. There’s still a shroud of mystery around him, but he doesn't feel like he needs to know it, comfortable with how they are.

"Maybe it's true that Yujikku wants to befriend you by buying you stuff because it worked for those two.

"That's ridiculous. That's like saying Yuto-kun wants to befriend me with all the sweets he gives the section and me- wait." Ryosuke pauses.

"Oh does he still give you stuff you like from the fangirls?"

"Yeah, it's become such a normal thing that I noticed I didn't get anything today while he was being cold to me. Do you think maybe he's trying to gift his way into my heart?"

"That… might make sense." Chinen agrees. "Just like Yabunbun and Piitan."

"That's ridiculous." Ryosuke scoffs, feeling dumb for overthinking. “I thought we weren’t talking about Yuto-kun anymore?”

“Right sorry, let’s get back to playing.”

~~~

His work week at Alpha Games went excruciatingly slowly, anxious each time he was around Yuto. As Yuto requested, he stayed low all week, the two of them talking minimally and only about work. He’s been tense all week, craving to talk to him, but he didn’t want the others to question him, hearing a little bit of chatter about it during lunch breaks. On Twitter, Yuto explained their relationship as simply coworkers having a long and important business meeting for a project. Judging by the replies, people seemed to be relieved. It didn’t sit right with him, hoping that Yuto would at least call him a friend, but he knows that would cause more questions.

Ryosuke hesitated going to the section dinner at the end of the week, but his coworkers insisted that he come along. While he talks to everyone in the section every so often, he still doesn't feel like he fits in, preferring to work alone or only with Yuto. He remembers hearing some of them talk about him behind his back before, feeling awkward around them, like they don't like him.

When he arrives at the restaurant, his eyes find Yuto’s instantly, eyes widening, before Yuto turns away to tend to someone else. He joins in the conversation closest to him, nodding along even though he didn’t care about whatever sport they were discussing.

After a drink, he was starting to feel relaxed, grateful that he agreed to be here. Free drinks are always a win. He watches Yuto in his loosened tie across the table, admiring how his suit fits him again. His own mouth twitched as Yuto laughed with a grin, his eyes nearly disappearing, wondering what was said to make him laugh like that. Yuto side eyes him, their gazes meeting and lingering for a few moments before Yuto turns away again.

Damn it.

“Hey Yamada-kun, happy to see you make it.

He was approached by a coworker that insisted on him coming, chatting for a bit mindlessly and laughing together, curious why they wanted him here.

"The photos in that article with Yuto are you, right?"

The question caught him off guard, trying to keep his voice steady, gripping his glass.

"What makes you think that?"

"The height difference matches up and it makes sense when Yuto mentioned it was a worker. You two have been acting weird this week after it happened, figured you fought or something."

"Weird how?"

Was it weird after all not interacting with Yuto as often?

"Everyone here knows how close you are with Yuto, you both seemed… distant."

"...We're not close."

"Ah see." his coworker points at him. "You used to always say that but there's no... bite to it anymore. Obviously your relationship changed."

"I don't know what you're talking about." he waves him off, getting up to sit somewhere else, hoping his coworker doesn't remember this.

Some time passed, Ryosuke's stomach was uncomfortable not from drinking, but how he was questioned about the article. It filled him with dread knowing that his coworkers figured something out.

"Hey Yamada-kun." another much drunker coworker got his attention.

"Hm?" Ryosuke hummed back.

"What's it like fucking Yuto?"

Ryosuke tensed.

"Excuse me?"

"Isn't that why you went to his place? It's okay to be honest, everyone knows you've been fucking him for a while." his coworker sighed loudly. "We're jealous but we can't do anything about it I suppose."

"What are you talking about? I’m not fucking him, we just get along sometimes for work.” he tries to explain.

But everyone “knew” for a while?

"The way you both act around and look at each other? He treats you so much better that it's obvious that something is happening behind the scenes."

"I'm telling you nothing is going between-"

"You're so lucky Yamada-kun. He gives you that kind of special treatment and it sucks for us."

There was that phrase again, special treatment. He’s heard it before but he didn’t think it was because they thought he was having sex with his boss.

"I don't get special treatment."

"You stay behind all the time now, right? Obviously he's going to reward you for being his pet."

His pet?

"I just stay behind because there's more work to do. I'm telling the truth." he swallows, but now he is uncertain as to the reason he stays, uncertain if Yuto does treat him better because he might like him.

"Sure sure, don't worry none of us are going to get in the way or tell anyone, as long as you two keep it to your desks. Probably." the coworker leaves him alone.

The image of Yuto taking him on top of his desk flashes through his head, when everyone is gone and it’s just the two of them alone in the echoing room filled with their moans. He shakes his head. Everyone thinks him and Yuto are sleeping together? For how long?

All he can think about is Yuto, feeling dizzy, realizing how much he wants him again, the image of having him over him stuck in his mind. He tries to calm himself down, but he couldn’t, craving Yuto’s lips on his lips, neck, body.

Ryosuke eyes Yuto sitting in a booth, the spot next to him empty.

If everyone already knows then…

He takes a deep breath before heading over, sliding and crashing next to Yuto. His cologne and warmth almost made him melt against him, reminding him of the photo shoot, the touch driving his mind crazy but he forced himself to sit up, controlling himself for now.

"Yama-chan?" Yuto tensed, but covered it up with a soft laugh, shifting slightly against him. "Do you want something?"

Yes.

“Yuuuto? How are you?” he hums, trying to get him to let his guard down a bit.

"I'm fine." Yuto replied. "You... Are you drunk?"

"Yeah I drank a looot." he lies.

He turned his attention to the others sitting around, feeling Yuto’s eyes linger on him until he joined back into the conversation. Ryosuke tried to get into the conversation too, but he was focused on the body next to him, the way his breathing quickened, the small fidgets.

It made him crave more.

Gradually, the body next to him relaxed, getting used to his presence, and Ryosuke makes his next move. Slowly, he places a hand on Yuto's thigh under the table, not doing anything, just resting it there. 

Yuto tenses again, side-eyeing him. 

"Yamada…" Yuto warns him in a low voice.

"What?" He replies innocently.

To his relief, Yuto didn't pull away or move his hand so he kept it there, still and waiting for a bit longer. Just a bit longer. No rushing. After some time, he began moving his thumb, rubbing small circles on his thigh, squeezing on occasion.

His eyes fall onto Yuto’s hand on his glass of water, his long fingers tapping against it, and damn it does he want those fingers to be on him instead, to be touching every inch of him. Better yet, inside him.

It was oddly thrilling to him, doing this in front of everyone, his heart thumping in his chest. No one was saying anything weird, not noticing what was happening under the table, focused on something else or too drunk. His hand went higher up his thigh, moving to the inside, rubbing, massaging, squeezing. It made him feel adventurous, wanting to test the limits, see how close he can get.

His head is facing someone talking, but his attention is fully on Yuto, noticing how he talked less, his breath quicker, biting his lower lip and swallowing. His eyes move as Yuto raises his glass to his lips, touching the rim and swallowing the clear liquid, watching his throat move.

It makes him lick his own lips and swallow.

Ryosuke leans his head onto Yuto’s shoulder and that’s when Yuto stood up.

"Yamada are you okay? Are you going to be sick? Here c'mon let's get up and get you to the bathroom just in case."

"I'm fine-"

"We're going." Yuto says a little sternly and Ryosuke shuts up, following him, no one batting an eye as they leave.

Yuto drags him into a stall, slamming him against the wall, Ryosuke wincing slightly as he makes a small noise of discomfort.

"What are you doing?" Yuto whispers harshly, eyes narrowed.

Hot.

"Nothing." trying to play innocent but his voice wavers slightly. “I was just resting my head, that’s all.”

Yuto stares blankly, an eye twitching. 

"You’re not actually drunk are you?” he says slowly. “You know exactly what you're doing."

"Maybe." Ryosuke shoots back, his mind feeling high as he reaches up, wrapping his arms around Yuto’s neck, waiting a moment to see if Yuto pushed him away before continuing. “We haven’t been talking much and I missed your voice and touch.”

Yuto hummed in response, leaning his head closer and letting his hands fall to his hips. His eyes scan him, biting his lip with confliction.

“I miss you too.” Yuto finally admits. “I’ve been so busy, but I haven’t stopped thinking about it all week.”

Ryosuke grins, wanting to hear exactly that.

"I wanted you to fuck me that night." Ryosuke purrs, coaxing him closer until he feels his breath on him. "Wanted to show you more skin by taking the rest of my clothes off and doing more."

“Did you?” Yuto murmured, sliding his hands under Ryosuke's shirt to rest them on his skin, electrifying him. “I like your skin, it’s so soft.”

“I like your lips.” Ryosuke breathed out, keeping his eyes on his, biting his lip as Yuto glanced at them. “Don’t you want to destress?”

After a long exhale, Yuto closes the distance between them. The kisses were forceful and hot, bits of tongue teasing lips, tasting of alcohol and Yuto, but the tingling contact pleased him as they pressed together over and over again. The hunger from Yuto drives his mind in circles, losing himself in the kisses, melting into each other as they heat up.

He originally thought it would be enough for him to just get another kiss from Yuto after teasing him, but now that they were here and kissing, Ryosuke wanted more, feeling blood rush downwards. Exactly then was when Yuto pushed closer, groaning as he felt friction against his growing erection, wondering if Yuto was in the same boat as him this time.

Before he could get his answer, Yuto pulled back just enough to slip a hand into his pants, taking a hold of his cock directly, a moan louder than he would have liked escaping against Yuto’s lips. The first time he gets Yuto to touch him like this and it’s in a public bathroom… he’ll take it.

"Yamada, someone could walk in any moment." Yuto hushed. “I knew you were the louder type...”

"You're the one touching me." he whispers. "What do you mean you knew?!"

“You're the one being a tease and I just knew." he presses their lips together, keeping him from arguing.

Instead, Ryosuke pushes his hips against Yuto, earning a soft groan.

"You're hard too." he says triumphantly against his lips, grinding against him.

Yuto pulls away, but takes his own erection out, firmly gripping both of them and sliding a hand over them. Ryosuke groans at the new heat against him, both of them rocking slightly into each other as Yuto strokes them together.

"Yamada, do you know what you do to me?" Yuto mumbled, quickening his pace.

"N-no?" Ryosuke could hardly think, using all his strength to keep himself up with his arms around Yuto’s neck, pleasure racing throughout his body.

"Liar.” Yuto pressed his lips against his jaw, dragging them along his skin. “You're so fucking hot it's ridiculous."

Ryosuke groans as Yuto takes his precome on his thumb, using it for lubrication over their lengths. He wanted to come with anything inside him, be it Yuto’s fingers, but his stomach already twisted, his orgasm approaching too soon.

"Yuto, I'm going to come." he whimpers, knocking his head back against the stall wall.

Ryosuke comes first, Yuto kissing him and swallowing his moans. As he fell from his high, he reached down to help touch Yuto but a hand collected both his wrists, pinning them above his head. Yuto’s head falls into the crook of his neck, leaving open mouthed kisses on his skin. Unable to do anything else, Ryosuke presses his lips against Yuto’s hair while he feels the movements of him stroking himself, unable to even see what’s happening below.

Yuto lets out a small noise, his hand slowing as he comes, feeling warmth hit him. He raises his head, gazing into his eyes, much softer and hazy, leaning in to kiss him lazily for a few moments, before pulling away and pressing their foreheads together.

"Fuck, Yama-chan." he breathed.

“That was… nice.” Ryosuke got out, head still a mess. “Did that help destress?”

“It did a bit.” Yuto admitted with a small laugh, letting him go and wiping at their mess before leading him out the stall. “We need to clean ourselves up.”

"Do you think the others will notice?" Ryosuke questions as they splash cold water on their faces, trying to not make it obvious that they both just orgasmed.

"Probably not." Yuto responds. "But I'm sending you home right away."

"But-"

"It'll be more believable and lead to less questions if they think you were actually sick." he says, fixing his outfit, a look in his eye telling him to go with it.

As Yuto said, he called a taxi for him immediately, letting him use his shoulder as support. When the taxi arrived, they hesitated letting go of each other, touches lingering as Ryosuke hopped into the taxi. Throughout the ride, he could only think of what just happened.

He never got to touch Yuto once. Not even himself.

Once Ryosuke makes it home, he feels awful about it, doing something like that in a semi public space when he’s caused Yuto enough problems as it is. All because he was annoyed and sexually frustrated.

He drafted a message for Yuto, taking him a while to finally send it, anxiously waiting for a response, knowing it’ll be some time before Yuto makes it home. Eventually, he gets one.

_ Ryosuke: I’m sorry about what happened tonight at dinner, I should have apologized in person but I was a mess and missed my chance. I was frustrated at something someone said to me and it was a stupid idea that wasn’t supposed to go that far. It hasn’t been long but I mean it when I said I missed your touch, I don’t know how I survived two weeks without you. I didn’t want to wait until the next time we see each other so I’m texting you instead _

_ Yuto: I should also apologize since admittedly I got into it myself... I wasn’t lying either when I said I missed you too. It was incredibly risky though, please don’t do it again in front of others. Thankfully no one said anything after you left  _

_ Do you want to talk about what you were frustrated about? _

_ Ryosuke: I got questioned about the article _

_ Yuto: What?? 😡 _

_ By fangirls? _

_ Ryosuke: No _

_ At the dinner _

_ Yuto: 😮😮 _

_ What did you say? _

_ Ryosuke: I didn’t confirm nor deny 😤 _

_ Yuto: Best to keep you low still... _

_ Ryosuke: Sorry I caused this mess for you, this is all my fault again _

_ Yuto: Again? _

_ Ryosuke: Like what happened on Sunday _

_ Yuto: Oh that _

_ That wasn’t all your fault _

He watches as Yuto begins to type, but then disappears, waiting a moment to begin typing again.

_ Yuto: I looked through the photos I took of you that night _

_ Ryosuke: What did you think of them?? 😨 _

_ Yuto: Um _

_ They were... hot _

_ Ryosuke: Were any of them good for your standards? 😳 _

_ Yuto: Yeah I like how they came out 😊 _

_ Ryosuke: Seriously?? _

_ Which ones? I want to see _

_ Yuto: Too many _

_ I'll show you next time? _

_ I don't want to send them through text  _

_ Ryosuke: That's fine _

_ Yuto: I love taking photos of you _

_ Ryosuke: Why? _

_ Yuto: You’re a pretty model _

_ Ryosuke: Yuto…  _

He sighs out loud, his finger hovering over the send button for his next message. As he sends it, he gets a message at the same time, re-reading it as Yuto sent more.

_ Ryosuke: Is it safe to see you this weekend? _

_ Yuto: I want to see you this weekend _

_ Idk if it’s safe _

_ But _

_ I want to meet up _

_ Talk about things in person... privately _

_ Ryosuke: How? Where? _

_ Yuto: I could rent a private room and we can enter separately? _

_ Ryosuke: Seems stressful for the both of us sneaking in and out _

_ Yuto: Hm _

_ Would you feel comfortable trying one of our places so only one person has to leave? _

_ Ryosuke: Wouldn’t it be weird if I get caught showing up at your place again? _

_ Yuto: Perhaps _

_ Then… yours? _

_ Ryosuke: Meet at my apartment? _

_ Yuto: Only if you’re okay with it, obviously I’ll be extra careful that no one is following me, which I don’t think they will. But once inside we’ll be sure that no one is watching or listening _

It was conflicting, unsure if he should have Yuto come over, weighing the possible outcomes if they get caught together again. Would Yuto be able to use the same excuse again?

But he also selfishly wants to see Yuto again and talk to him in person about everything. Even what happened tonight. 

_ Ryosuke: I think it might be the best option _

_ Yuto: So I’m meeting you at yours? _

_ Ryosuke: Yeah, I’ll send you my address _

_ Yuto: Sorry about this _

_ Ryosuke: About what? _

_ Yuto: That this takes so much precautions and you’re risking yourself just because I want to talk in person _

_ Ryosuke: Yuto-kun, I want to see you too _

Yuto types and deletes his message several times.

_ Yuto: I’m going to do some work _

_ I’ll talk to you tomorrow Yama-chan 😀 _

_ Ryosuke: Okay, good night 🙂 _

_ Yuto: 😴😴 _

Ryosuke exhales as he puts his phone down, wondering what Yuto wanted to say to him, not even sure what he wants to say. They're not dating yet now he's gotten more kisses and a handjob, wishing that he was able to touch Yuto too, wanting to give him some pleasure with his own hand… or mouth.

It’ll only be a few days before he can meet up with Yuto, but he already can’t wait to get this off his chest and find out answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops a little bit of conflict... and a little treat. Maybe a little fast paced again, but I'm excited for the next chapter so I hope you all are too and still enjoying~
> 
> Thank you for reading and as always feedback is appreciated 💕


	17. Chapter 17

The next few days trudged on with Ryosuke watching the clock as the hours passed by, waiting for Sunday to arrive so he could meet up with Yuto. He’s been checking Twitter each day, searching for updates and reactions about “Yutomania”. Some fans were still suspicious of what happened last week at his apartment, but the majority were defending him and his privacy, to his relief.

Even after reflecting, Ryosuke has no idea how to act after what happened that night nor at the section dinner, feeling awkward as they didn’t mention it further in their texts. He did have a couple of drinks, but he didn’t not feel like himself when he approached Yuto, not sure where the idea to touch him under the table came from. He just wanted to tease Yuto a bit to see if he would push him away again, shocked when he was dragged to the bathroom and found the both of them aroused. It felt good at the moment, kissing Yuto and having his hands on him, but it happened in a blur again.

On the fateful morning, Ryosuke woke up to a text from Yuto telling him that he misses his cooking, agreeing to make lunch for him when he comes over, nerves taking over as he racks his brain for a lunch idea as he gets ready, showering and doing his skincare.

When Yuto texted him that he was on his way, he didn't realize it was that soon, not fully cleaned up yet, rushing to vacuum and clean up the rest of his trash. He cleaned his kitchen and living room twice, where Yuto would most likely hang around, but he felt compelled to clean his own room for good measures.

"Do I drink this many energy drinks?" he mumbled to himself as he collected all the empty cans and bottles to recycle later.

When his room looked somewhat presentable, a few knocks made him jump, running to his front door. He swings open the door, where Yuto was waiting.

At least, someone who resembled Yuto.

“It’s me.” Yuto announced in a hushed voice, pushing his sunglasses down to reveal sharp eyes.

He almost laughs at how ridiculous his disguise is today, but his breath gets caught in his throat, seeing him in a beanie, beige trench coat, fitted jeans. A scarf covered half his face, yet he felt like he got slapped in the face with how handsome he is.

"Hey there, you, ahem, come here often?" he tries to say smoothly, but he coughs halfway through, his breathing a little uneven after running around his house to clean up.

And his breath was taken away by Yuto.

"I could if you insist." Yuto walks past him to enter with a wink, Ryosuke's mouth opening and closing at the response.

Damn him.

“You don’t think you look suspicious covered up like that?” he says in disbelief as Yuto removes his disguise pieces one by one.

It was his most covered up disguise he’s seen from him compared to the several ones before.

“No one will know it’s me! Did you know?" Yuto adjusted his hair, messed up due to the beanie.

"Yes I did, Yuto-kun."

"That's only because you expected me here." he pointed out.

Ryosuke rolls his eyes, taking his coat and hanging it while Yuto scans the area, tensing as he becomes aware that this is the first time Yuto is in his apartment. It’s nothing like Yuto's simple yet elegant place, afraid he’s thinking lowly of him.

"It's nothing special, I know, you don't need to pay much attention." he says, a bit embarrassed, wishing he arranged the wall decorations better.

"What do you mean? It's cozy, I like it here." Yuto flashes a smile at him, warming his heart and relaxing him.

Yuto seemed confident as always, taking it easy and it made him feel ridiculous for stressing out over every detail.

“Anyways, you never told me what you wanted to eat for lunch and I didn’t have time to plan anything.” Ryosuke looks through his fridge. “Any suggestions on what you’re craving?”

“Hm...” Yuto touches his chin, thinking. “You’re the chef, so I’ll let you choose.”

“You’re my guest, you choose.”

“I want to eat whatever you want to cook.

“I want to cook whatever you want to eat.”

“Not it.” he touches his nose.

“That’s not- nevermind.” Ryosuke gives up, knowing they could stand here for hours like this. “How about miso salmon and soup?”

“Sounds great, Yama-chan!” a smirk on his face shouted victory and Ryosuke really wants to wipe it off his face. 

Preferably with his own mouth.

As he takes out the ingredients to marinate, he hears shuffling, turning around just as the shutter of a camera clicked, taking a photo of him.

“You brought your camera?” he brushes back his bangs slightly.

“Of course. Oh this one is pretty. Can I help cook?”

“Do you promise not to burn my kitchen down?” he teases, but he’s met with silence, turning to see Yuto facing away. “Yuto-kun…”

“I make no promises but I think there’s a 99% chance it’ll be fine.” he grins with a thumbs up.

How does this man make it living on his own?

As they prepared their meal, Yuto ended up taking more photos than actually helping, letting Ryosuke do most of it and focusing on the job of cooking the rice as he had when they made curry for dinner at Yuto’s place.

“Your kitchen equipment looks fancy!” Yuto examines a pot in awe as they wait for their meal to cook.

“You think that one is fancy? Look at my favorite beauty.” Ryosuke pulls out a large red pot, pleased when Yuto claps. He hands the pot to Yuto, who immediately pretends to drop it, a screech coming from Ryosuke as he snatches it back. “If you hurt my baby I’ll stab you.” he hisses, cradling his pot.

“I’lL sTAb YoU.” Yuto repeated mockingly. “You think you would be able to stab me, Yama-chan?”

“Don’t test me, Yuto-kun.” he glares at him, challenging him. "I know where each of my several knives are. Sharp knives."

Yuto laughs, holding up his hands in defense.

“You know, I’m surprised you never stabbed me when we first met, you hated me with so much passion, right?”

Ryosuke places the pot onto his counter, laughing as well.

“I’m surprised I didn’t either.” Ryosuke replies. “A lot changed, huh? Who would have thought I would let the man I hated most into my home to cook him lunch.”

“Yeah…” Yuto agrees. “I’m glad we became friendly.”

Friendly… his eyes fall on Yuto, examining a spatula, wondering how his hatred for Yuto turned into love. It seemed so natural for them to be together like this, cooking and messing around. It was strange that Ryosuke was able to joke around with Yuto like this, feeling familiar, as if he knew someone like Yuto and was already close to him.

“Yama-chan?” Ryosuke blinks out of his trance hearing his name in a soft, sweet voice, Yuto looking at him. “I think you should check on the salmon?”

“The salmon!” Ryosuke cries out, rushing to remove the fish from the oven, relieved to see it wasn’t burnt. He was distracted with Yuto talking to him, forgetting that his attention was supposed to be on the oven and not Yuto.

Not that he minded.

Ryosuke smiles as Yuto does his food photo shoot when they plated everything together, hot and fresh.

“If I post this on my Instagram it’ll get tons of likes. It looks like restaurant quality.” Yuto says in awe. “The world is missing out on two kinds of beauty.”

“It’s a simple meal, I don’t think it deserves that much credit.” Ryosuke rolls his eyes, holding in how pleased he is with the praise. “It’s just miso salmon and soup… And rice that you made. So what, three kinds of beauty?” he holds up his bowl of rice, trying to see the beauty in it.

Yuto points the camera at him, taking a photo.

“If you count it like that, then four kinds of beauty.” Yuto grinned. “You forgot yourself.” Ryosuke chokes on air, covering his face with his bowl, feeling his face flush. He hears Yuto laugh, peeking over. “You’re so cute, Yama-chan.”

“Let’s just eat already before the food gets cold.” Ryosuke coughs, blowing on his spoonful, keeping an eye on Yuto to watch his expression when he tries it.

As Yuto takes a bite, his eyes light up, hitting the table quickly as he nods his head.

“It’s delicious!” he exclaims, his jaw as wide as his eyes. “How do you make something so simple so delicious like this? I could eat this every day if I could.”

“What can I say, I’m a good cook.” Ryosuke replies, taking a bite of the salmon.

In his opinion it was a little too salty, but if Yuto said it was delicious then that’s all that matters to him, happy with how it came out. They laughed over how bad Yuto’s cooking can be, even though Yuto swears he’s improving. Ryosuke gave out random tips he thought of from watching his last cooking video, Yuto quickly jotting them down.

“You should make an appearance in my next cooking video! People would love you and your recipes.” Yuto suggests.

“Maybe I’ll become more popular than you and then I'll create my own cooking channel.” Ryosuke jokes.

“You’re serious about cooking aren’t you?” Yuto mentions as they continued to eat. “Why didn’t you become a chef or something? Your cooking always looks beautiful and tastes amazing.” he takes a long whiff. “And smells great, though I guess viewers won't be able to tell.”

“I like working with computers and games.” Ryosuke shrugs. Becoming a chef had been one of Ryosuke’s job ideas since he was a kid, having always loved cooking with his family and for others. It was a skill he learned early on so he could live on his own and create healthy dishes so he doesn’t have to go out as often. “What about you? You could make it without working at Alpha Games with your social media making enough money, right?”

“It’s the same reason as you, I like working with computers and games.” Yuto shrugs back. “Alpha Games is special to me, it was going downhill but it’s been improving in sales lately.”

“It’s because you started working there, right?” Ryosuke points out. “So much as changed over the past months.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think I’m the only factor that changed the company this dramatically.” Yuto hummed, motioning towards him. “Your ideas have been what’s keeping it alive.”

Ryosuke raises an eyebrow.

“Me? I haven’t done that much. I’ve just been planning other people’s work.”

“You’ve been pitching in with all the overtime work, right? Everyone has noticed an increase in quality.” Yuto explains. “Every time I turn in one of your ideas, everyone loves it. Your planning is always perfect, no one can compare to your creativity. I have a long way to go to catch up.”

“Please, I’ve always been trying to catch up to you.” Ryosuke laughs a little. “I’m nowhere near perfect.”

Like you.

“Yamada, you never needed to catch up to me.” Yuto says seriously. “But you worked hard to improve yourself when you had a goal, I’m just pushing you further as your boss so you can see that you’re such a talented employee.”

“You’re my boss and I’m your employee.” Ryosuke confirmed softly, Yuto tensing across the table.

“Well…” Yuto scratched the back of his neck. “Obviously we’re a little, uh, more than that? I think.” he paused. “We can talk about that after eating.”

Ryosuke raises an eyebrow, confused on how Yuto sees him if not strictly professional. While he was relishing how natural it felt to have Yuto over, he forgot that the whole reason he was here in the first place was to talk about their relationship.

The rest of the meal was quieter, chatting about Ryosuke’s favorite cooking channel, Yuto willing to watch the videos to learn. As they finish, Yuto volunteers to do the dishes immediately, refusing Ryosuke’s attempts to do them.

Ryosuke sits on his couch, waiting for Yuto to finish, feeling his nerves tingle, the atmosphere feeling heavier. He's been waiting for this for so long, wanting to know what they are and if they could be where Ryosuke wants them to be.

When Yuto finishes, he sits next to him, the mood tense as they both stare downwards, waiting for someone to start speaking.

“So, about last Sunday.” Yuto began, swallowing. “A lot happened.”

“Yeah. A lot.” Ryosuke agreed, exhaling. “Unexpected stuff.”

“Never would have thought I would run into you at night and then have you cook me dinner.” Yuto chuckled softly. “It was nice, your curry was delicious.”

“I’m glad you thought so.” Ryosuke smiled. “Also didn’t think it was going to rain like that, causing a scandal… so sorry about that mess that’s going on right now.”

“It felt weird not talking to you all week at the office, I kept wanting to chat with you about your day but then I didn’t want to bring attention to you, though in the end it was suspicious, huh?”

Both of them didn’t realize how close they seemed at the office for people to notice something was wrong when they stopped interacting like normal.

“Yeah… when someone mentioned it to me, they asked me how it was like fucking you because they all think it’s a regular thing between us. Ridiculous, right?” he agreed with Yuto’s surprised face. “I mean, we almost did because of me since I suggested we do… that photoshoot.”

“Well… it’s not entirely your fault.” Yuto says. “I was the one who made the suggestion in the first place. Besides, your outfit...” he pauses, fidgeting. “The outfit I gave you was planned.” he revealed.

He remembers the oversized outfit Yuto gave him, how the shirt easily fell off his shoulder and how he hardly had pants on, the skin of his legs out in the open, brushing against the fabric of the couch, and eventually against Yuto's legs. It made him blush thinking how that was all planned by Yuto to make it easy for him to show more of his skin.

“You mean you wanted me to do a naughty photo shoot that night?” he accused, raising an eyebrow. 

Yuto nodded.

“It was just me hoping, so I got excited when you brought it up. You’re usually so cute so I wanted to see a different side of you which you," he bites his lip. "Once again, exceeded my expectations.” 

“What were you thinking of as you were taking the photos?” Ryosuke asks curiously.

“I kept thinking about how beautiful you were.” Yuto says without missing a beat. “Every compliment I said to you that night was what I believed.”

Yuto’s words had spurred him on, calling him pretty, hot, and how much he wanted to touch his soft skin. He shivers thinking about his tone, how he wasn’t certain if it was just to get him into the mood but now Yuto was saying he was genuine.

“You got into it so naturally.” Yuto continued lowly. “You were so hot even though you were nervous at first. It… well.” he swallowed. “It turned me on seeing you like that. I had a fleeting thought that you were thinking of me when you started to… touch your body and it took everything I had to keep myself in control as the photographer, something that hasn’t happened before even during my other nude shots. And you weren’t even nude!” he waved his hand in the air.

“I was thinking about you the whole time.” Ryosuke confessed. “I was thinking about how you kissed me before we started the photo shoot. The sensation still fresh in my mind.” he unconsciously reaches up to touch his own lips.

“The kiss…” Yuto breathed out. “I wasn’t lying when I said I’ve been wanting to kiss you, I’ve thought you were beautiful ever since I first saw you. I wanted to keep our relationship professional, but I couldn’t resist you when you were in my arms.”

There was the whole professionalism again. Ryosuke takes a breath before asking what he’s been wanting to clear up, his heart racing.

“You mentioned our professional relationship before we... got in too deep.” Ryosuke swallowed. “Is that… is that what you want with us?”

Yuto shifted in his seat, adjusting his collar.

“I mean, like I said earlier, we’re more than… more than… that.” Yuto stumbles. “What do I want? I...” he pauses, Ryosuke tense on the edge of his seat. “I want a little more, and I know that sounds selfish of me.” he finishes, his cheeks tinting pink.

Selfish? If Yuto’s selfish then he must also be egocentric for wanting more.

“Yuto-kun. I literally dragged you to kiss me during the photo shoot because I wanted you.” he says bluntly. “And since I didn’t get to have you at that time, I was desperate enough to try to get your attention during the section dinner.”

“Which made me desperate to touch you back, leading to me giving you a handjob in a public bathroom.” Yuto winced.

“And that was… good.” Ryosuke blushed, the thought of withering under Yuto flashing through his mind. “So if that wasn’t enough of a hint that I… that I…”

Ryosuke stops there, shifting his weight as Yuto keeps his eyes on him, trying not to break eye contact. He had rehearsed his confession speech to Yuto several times, but it never helps him when it comes to the real thing, the words nothing like he prepared, but it felt right now. He takes a deep breath before continuing. 

"That I have feelings for you then I don’t know what else will." he finishes, fidgeting and watching for Yuto’s reaction.

Yuto blinks, swallowing. He doesn’t say anything for ages before his eyes move to the side.

“That’s what I was afraid of.” Yuto finally says softly.

“Afraid?” Ryosuke repeated. Yuto. Afraid? “Of what?”

“I like you too.” Yuto quickly blurts out. “I have for a while but...” he trails off.

Yuto likes him. Yuto Nakajima likes him. He’s liked him for a while.

The cogs in his brain turned to process that, waiting for Yuto to continue but no more words came out of his mouth opening and closing. He thinks about their first kiss, feeling his own emotions leak out during that small moment, how he doubted that Yuto shared those same romantic emotions.

“But you don’t want a romantic relationship?” Ryosuke asks, trying to clarify.

“Well...” Yuto starts, hesitating. “I’m curious about a romantic relationship.”

“Aren’t you the one being confusing? You say you like me but afraid of me liking you back?” Ryosuke says with disbelief. “You’ve been teasing me all this time by being touchy and nearly kissing me multiple times, then we finally kiss and you push me away?” he groaned.

"It was fun at first teasing you, it was cute seeing you get all worked up about working and beating me." Yuto huffed. "And then-and then you started showing interest and I knew." he raised his voice, words spewing out. "I knew and yet I kept teasing you even though it was wrong, I led you on because part of me wants you too even though I know I shouldn't."

“You knew that I liked you but you didn’t address it? I didn’t even know I liked you until not long ago.” Ryosuke frowns.

Just how many people suspected something?

"We started spending more time together and you’re so different than others who have shown interest in me, like you genuinely were interested in me as a person and not as Yutomania and I-I…" Yuto faltered.

“I like spending time with you as you and not Yutomania." Ryosuke interjected, taken aback as to how Yutomania came up.

“You do?” Yuto blinked at him.

"I wish that you at least clarified that you wanted our relationship to be strictly professional before… this whole thing happened.” he sighed, wishing he knew earlier.

Yuto groaned loudly.

“And that’s the problem!” Yuto exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “I don’t actually care about keeping the relationship professional.”

Ryosuke’s jaw opened, confused.

“You… don’t? But you just said you wanted to keep it earlier and that time you stopped us when… you know… you mentioned you being my boss and I’m your employee.”

“I just said that thinking that you would move on since it makes sense.” Yuto confessed. “Yamada.” he takes a deep breath. "It won't be a good idea to date me and you know it."

"Because it could cost us our jobs?"

"Not that. It's difficult to be with me with all my fans lurking around.” Yuto pursed his lips.

“Your fangirls will be fine if they find out you're dating someone, you're human too.” he frowned.

"Damn it Yamada.” Yuto stood up, slamming his hands on either side of his head on the couch, leaning down closer, Ryosuke gasping as his cologne overwhelmed him. “I just want to protect you from them.” Yuto mumbles. “I don't want you to become like my other partners and have you hurt."

His other partners.

He remembers him mentioning how his last girlfriend got tired of being harassed by fangirls, the "scandal" being thrown out of proportion.

“You’ve always known I didn’t like the fangirls.” Ryosuke begins to connect the dots, realizing he cared more about his partner rather than himself, as Yuto nods.

“See what happens when they catch you simply leaving my apartment? The media goes crazy! And you hate it! You hate it all! I’m not worth the trouble.” Yuto proclaimed, his head hanging low. “I don’t know why you like me as… me and not Yutomania like everyone else.”

More clicks in Ryosuke’s head, knowing people liked being around him because he was famous, because he was rich. That combined with being worried about the trouble he could cause for him must have been what was holding Yuto back.  


“There’s several reasons why I like you, Yuto, but you being Yutomania is not one of them.” he tries to reassure him.

"I don’t think you should, but God, Yamada Ryosuke." he raises his head slowly, a hand moving to cup his face. "I want you so bad, I've always wanted you."

One of his biggest cons to dating Yuto was dealing with fangirls, wanting to live peacefully and bring his boyfriend around town holding hands proudly in public. It was the reason why he hated Yuto in the first place, holding him back, but he learned to get over it, his feelings and the pros taking over that con.

Even though it felt like the world was against him in dating Yuto, he would still do anything to do it.

"We'll make it manage, it took me ages to realize I’ve always wanted you too." he says softly, holding onto Yuto's hand on his cheek, gently squeezing. “You're worth more than Yutomania to me and I’m willing to deal with anyone if it means I can be with you, Nakajima Yuto, I promise.” he musters all his sincerity, focusing on the beautiful man above him.

"That's what I always liked about you." Yuto murmured. "You do everything you can until you get what you want."

The hand holding his cheek relaxes, Yuto pressing their foreheads together, their eyes refusing to break contact. Ryosuke could feel his warm breath on him, yet his skin tingled with goosebumps, his heart barely keeping in his chest as he admires soft eyes brimming with hope, yet also uncertainty. He wanted nothing more than to make Yuto feel loved, as him and not his internet personality, his true self that he fell for. The fangirls don't know this side that he knows of him, loving him for different reasons than him.

"And I'm not going to give up on you."

Yuto tensely swallows, fighting an internal battle in his head, and all Ryosuke could do was try to reassure him that he wasn't backing out of this.

"Are you sure about this?" Yuto questions softly, voice wavering.

"Yeah.” Ryosuke says firmly. “I'm sure I want to date you."

"Then..." Yuto shifts, hesitating for a moment before touching their lips together. 

It differed from their previous kisses, a gentle fluttering of lips touching and full of insecurities, as if Yuto was afraid he'd break him. Ryosuke squeezes the hand on his cheek again, shifting it to intertwine their shaking fingers together tightly, encouraging him as gravity begins to pull them closer, closer. His other hand finds the back of Yuto’s head, a soft noise against his lip, fingers idly playing with his soft hair, massaging him, fueling Yuto’s confidence.

There was a whisper, Ryosuke thinks it was “breathtaking”, uncertain who said it, sizzling lips sending sparks directly to his brain, dizzying him. Hot. Warmth spreads throughout his body as Yuto tilts his head, parting his lips to capture his, pressing them together firmer, with more intent. All the pent up emotions the two of them built up collapsed, lost in each other’s touches, melting into one.

Everything is worth it.

Ryosuke gasps against Yuto’s lips, having forgotten to breathe, but he refuses to pull away, refuses to let Yuto pull away, leaning up to keep their lips connected, only wanting the feeling of Yuto’s warm lips on his to last. There was nothing else on his mind, blank except one thought.

Yuto.

To his disappointment, it does end eventually, the two pulling back enough to feel each other’s breaths, half lidded eyes gazing dreamily into each other. It was deja vu, except this time Yuto mumbles his name, closing the distance again, sending him high with another short, soft kiss, two small smiles against each other reminding him that he doesn’t have to worry about Yuto not wanting him back.

It left him wanting more, feeling addicted to his kisses, but they both couldn’t help but breathlessly giggle against each other, Yuto rubbing their foreheads together. No words were exchanged, but they both glowed as they relished in the comfort of just being there together, fingers still intertwined.

“So.” Yuto finally breaks the silence. “You don’t hate me?”

“I don’t hate you Yuto-kun, in fact I like you very, very much.” Ryosuke laughs, as Yuto sighs in relief, pulling away completely to cheer, hands lingering for an extra moment.

It was adorable with how relieved and less stressed Yuto looked, wondering how relieved he looks, every weight gone from his shoulders.

He finally has what he wants and it means the world to him.

“You know, when I agreed with Jun-san to be harsh on you, I kind of wanted you to keep hating me.” Yuto admitted.

“Why?” Ryosuke raised an eyebrow.

“I knew early on that I would end up being attracted to you, but I didn’t want you to end up hurt if you were to ever like me.”

“Well it’s too late, I already fell for you.” Ryosuke grins.  


“If anyone dares to touch you, I will fight them.”

“Please do not fight your fans, Yuto-kun.”

“But-”

“No buts.”

They spend the next couple hours freely, immersed in a video game, just the two of them laughing and teasing each other. Ryosuke couldn’t imagine anything better than this, combining two things he likes, games and Yuto. It was his perfect idea for a date, staying indoors and having fun. He hopes that one day he’ll be able to drag Yuto out in public but that can wait for now, just enjoying his private company.

"I think today went well enough that I can ask you to go on another date with me another time?" Yuto asks when he has to leave for a business meeting, standing by the front door.

"I would love that very much."

“Sweet, we can text about it later. Oh and about the photos from last week,” Yuto adds. “I can show them to you next time.”

“You said you liked them, right?” he had forgotten about them, the mood having been light and sweet after their talk, rather than the sensual contents of the photos.

“Yeah, photos of you almost always turn out perfect somehow. You're a beautiful model.” Yuto smiles, Ryosuke feeling a little blush despite having heard those words from Yuto several times already. It felt different, more meaningful now that they established their relationship. “But I have an idea or two to make them even better.” he winks. “But you’ll have to wait until then.”

Ryosuke raises an eyebrow, having an idea of what Yuto was thinking but he remained quiet, already getting excited for the next photo shoot. He holds back his laughter as Yuto piles on his disguises, hiding his face from prying eyes, peeking around outside before leaving.

Ryosuke hopes no one saw him and thinks he was a robber that just left his place.

But he knew that they had to be more hidden than ever, though he felt oddly okay with that, just happy to know that Yuto was his.

Finally his.

~~~

“Kurusuke it would be nice if you were to stop dying randomly.”

Ryosuke snaps out of his day dreaming, realizing that his character already dead even though the fight has barely begun.

“Uggh sorry guys I'm distracted." Ryosuke groans while running a hand through his hair, watching his computer screen as their party leaves the dungeon to restart for the third time.

"Is it still about Yuto?" Daiki questions.

"W-what?? No way… okay maybe it is." he says defeated. "How did you know?"

"Oh you know, your date is all you've been talking about this whole time?" Chinen suggests. “I feel like this is when you first met Yuto all over again.”

"A date with Nakajima Yuto." Ryosuke mumbles as he places his head in his hands. “Just a few hours ago. I can’t believe this.”

“I cannot believe you guys didn’t start dating earlier, we told you so, Ryosuke.” Chinen clicked his tongue.

“Because I was awkward and confused. I had no idea he liked me so early on.”

“C’mon, maybe he likes your awkward and confused self.” Daiki tries. “It’s charming in a way.”

“It's hard not to like you. Just ask anyone, watch this.”

_ Sabonen: Hey Yujikku do you like Kurusuke? _

“CHI! What are you even asking him?” Ryosuke wails. “He’s probably busy with his raid right now anyways.”

Though he doesn’t want to admit he is curious about his opinion on him.

“Let’s just wait and see how he replies.”  


The three mess around and hunt some monsters before finally getting a response from Yujikku.

_ Yujikku: Of course I like Kuru!! It must be hard to find someone that dislikes him :o _

Ryosuke reread that sentence to himself several times, not sure how he was supposed to interpret that.

What was it supposed to show?

_ Sabonen: Right? That's what I said! _

_ He started dating someone and he’s still worried he doesn’t like him back, isn’t he a little stupid sometimes? _

_ Yujikku: WAIT WHAT _

_ He’s dating someone?! _

_ And he didn’t tell me???!!! _

_ KURU WE NEED TO TALK LATER _

_ Is it that guy you always talk about?? _

_ Daikingu: Yep _

_ They always liked each other and only just now acted on it _

_ Yujikku: Omg _

_ Omg _

_ Congrats but _

_ You are a little stupid sometimes Kuru _

_ Kurusuke: Please don’t talk about me like that when I am right here ;-; _

_ It just happened today, so I was going to tell you later since I knew you were going to be busy with raids afgjsgd >< _

_ Daikingu: Yujikku, why don’t you join our voice call on discord to tell Kurusuke how stupid he is? _

_ Kurusuke: Not you too Daikingu!! He’s not even in our Chibis group _

He tries to think back to how his voice sounded in streams he's watched, but he already forgot how it sounded, only remembering it sounding pleasant to his ears. He’ll just have to look up a video later.

_ Yujikku: I actually don’t have a lot of time right now since I need to do some work ;-; _

_ I meant to do some before our raid but I was out for longer than I was supposed to be _

_ But Kurusuke stop being stupid >:) _

_ Kurusuke: HEY!! _

_ I hate all of you guys _

_ Yujikku has logged off. _

_ Sabonen: But Yujikku likes you _

_ Ah he’s gone _

_ Kurusuke: Shut up _

_ Let’s just continue _

“Ah right, sorry guys I can’t.” Daiki apologizes. “I’m supposed to meet a friend soon.”

_ Sabonen: :( _

_ Kurusuke: :( _

“Don’t make sad faces and not say anything when we’re in a voice call together what the fuck guys.”

_ Sabonen: :(((((((( _

_ Kurusuke: :(((((( _

_ Daikingu: :))))))) _

_ Daikingu has logged off. _

“I can’t believe he actually left.” Chinen pouted as they said goodbye to him over discord. “Now what are we going to do?”

“I really want to run a dungeon but we’ll need to find another person since I don’t think we can duo anything that’s worth doing.” Ryosuke scrolls through the list of easier dungeons, trying to find a good one.

“You don’t think I have the strength? Look at these guns.”

Ryosuke glares at Sabonen on his screen, a small, sparkly pink priest in light armor.

“To be honest, no. All priests have low DPS… you could get away with just standing in the corner the whole raid as long you heal.”

“Hmm… if you're not going to be distracted over Yuto, then why don’t we ask RenRen in our guild? We’ve done some with him before and he’s pretty good.” Chinen suggests.

“Worth a try.”

Ryosuke forgets sometimes that there are other people in the guild, on the rare occasion they would do guild raids or games when there were more people on, but it was typically quiet. RenRen was one of those people they see online more often than the rest, someone they met through the game. They have met in person before, shocked to see how handsome this man named Nagase Ren is in person.  


_ Kurusuke: Ren!! Do you want to do a dungeon with Sabonen and I? _

_ RenRen: Which dungeon? _

_ Kurusuke: Are you in the Chibis discord server? _

_ We can talk in the voice channel  
_

_ RenRen: Will be there o7 _

_ *Ding* _

“I haven’t been on the voice chat in a while.” Ren greets the two in the call.

They pick a dungeon meant for three people, jumping into it after a small conversation. As they entered, it was split into three pathways where they had to defeat monsters and mini bosses blocking the paths.

“Let’s just split up, we can finish faster probably.” Chinen suggests.

“I don’t think you can handle a whole wave on your own, Chi.” Ryosuke frowns. “Just come to my lane and I’ll protect you while you heal me. Ren will be fine since he’s a paladin.”

“I’ll be fine, Ryosuke.”

“No you won’t.”

“I will.”

They argue for a little bit until Ren interrupts them.

“You guys argue like a married couple.”

“WHAT?” the two yell in unison.

“Whatever we’ll split up but if you’re in danger I’m going to come and save you, okay?” Ryosuke says defeated.

They each pick a separate path, Ryosuke dragging the party health bars where he can pay extra attention to Chinen’s.

“Chi are you okay? Did you run out of mana or potions?” Ryosuke frowns, seeing Chinen’s health in the red zone.

“I’m fine.” Chinen says defensively, his health raising to green.

“Are you being attacked?? I just saw your health drop again. I’m coming over right now.” Ryosuke announces, heading in his direction.

As he sees Chinen on his minimap, several red dots surround a blue dot, indicating monsters around his teammate. He dashes over as fast as he could, noticing Ren also rushing over, but he gets there faster, killing most of them before Ren gets there.

“Ah, saved again by the great Ryosuke.” Chinen says monotone.

“This happens way too many times.” Ryosuke shakes his head. “You always get yourself into trouble like this.”

"I do not."

"You do and I have to save you every time."

“You should save Yujikku one day.”

“What? Where did that come from? He’s one of the strongest people in the whole ass game, much stronger than me, he doesn’t even need anyone to save him.”

“Ah, so he’s the one protecting you.” Ren comments.

Protecting?

Yuto’s words come back to him, how he wanted to protect him from the fangirls and that’s what’s been holding him back this whole time. But it makes him smile, realizing how much Yuto cares about not hurting him, willing to try to control his feelings, even if in the end it didn’t work.  Yuto has always shown him kindness, making him laugh when he felt stressed over work and helping to reduce the weight off his shoulders. Yuto said that he’s been a great help during overtime, but he wants to do more for Yuto.

“One day, I’ll be the one protecting him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special guest appears 😂 I think it's cute how Ryosuke, Chinen, and Ren play games together in real life all the time so I had to make a small cameo for him.
> 
> As for the chapter content... There was a lot I wanted to fit into this chapter since it's important to their relationship (which YES they are finally together ashfg) I hope it clears up some stuff a bit and you can see Yuto's conflicted thoughts and understand his character better orz
> 
> The chapters keep getting longer and I hope that's okay 😅 thank you for reading as always, feel free to let me know what you thought 💕


	18. Chapter 18

_ Yujikku: So _

_ Kuru _

_ About you getting a boyfriend today _

_ CONGRATSSS!!!!!!! 🥳🎉🥳🎉🥰 _

_ Sorry I didn’t get to properly congratulate you earlier, I had too much work to catch up on >< _

_ Kurusuke: Thanks Yujik! 🥰😘 _

_ I swear I was going to message you tonight about it but I knew you said you were busy today _

_ I didn't want to interrupt anything again orz _

_ Yujikku: It's fine I'm not actually mad omg _

_ It’s never been serious when you interrupt so I’m cool with it _

_ This is big news!! _

_ I'm happy for you _

_ It happened today right? _

_ Kurusuke: Yeah!! _

_ I was so anxious when he started talking about it but thankfully it turned out good _

_ Yujikku: If it happened like a week ago I would have been all over you about it but it’s recent so I guess you’re fine 😤 _

_ But I want to hear the deets 👀👀 _

_ Did you two have an official date?? _

_ Didn't you say he was going to your house? 😏😏 _

_ Kurusuke: NOTHING LIKE THAT HAPPENED!! 😳😳 _

_ Idk if it was even an official date _

_ Yujikku: Aww _

_ So a predate? _

_ You went to his house last week right? Was that also a predate?! _

_ Kurusuke: Last week wasn’t a date either!! Or a predate whatever that it _

_ We just had dinner like I told you…  _

_ So um _

_ You already know that he was coming over to my place today to talk and well… _

_ Yujikku: You’ve been even more unfocused than usual ever since, remember when you walked off the dragon, nearly died from fall damage then got stomped on? _

_ Kurusuke: SHUT UP SKSKS I THOUGHT WE WOULDN’T TALK ABOUT THAT _

_ Yujikku: 😂😂 _

_ Kurusuke: So ANYWAYS about the “date”... _

_ He came over looking suspicious and ridiculous as hell but also really prety but that’s not the point here even tho I could go on and on 😂 SO we made lunch together… and it was fun. It felt so natural and we messed around like we’ve always been friends which is weird since who would have thought I would let the man I hated most into my home to cook him lunch, right?? He called me cUTE. And maybe beautiful but I think he was talking more about the food. After we ate we had our serious talk… So it turns out he’s liked me for a while... Then we kissed?! 🥰 And it was the best kiss I've had I'm telling you. Then we just played a bunch of games together for a couple hours and it was so nice after being stressed!! I wish he stayed longer but he had work to do and left... I can't believe I can say my boyfriend is so beutiful 😭😭 _

_ Sorry about the long block of text omg 😱 _

_ ... I meant "beautiful"...  _

_ ... I also meant "pretty"... _

_ Hey are you still there? _

_ Helloooo??  _

_ Yujikku: I'm here! _

_ I had to do something for a bit sorry orz _

_ Kurusuke: I thought I bored you to death and you left lol 😅 _

_ Yujikku: What no!! _

_ It sounded like you had a ton of fun!! 🤩 _

_ Did you? _

_ Kurusuke: Yeah I feel like I was on the moon with how happy I was! 🥰 _

_ Yujikku: Awesome!! _

_ What did you guys make together for lunch? _

_ Kurusuke: Just something simple, nothing too romantic 😅 _

_ But he said it was delicious and like restaurant quality?? _

_ That made me happy since I love cooking for others _

_ Yujikku: Aw that’s cute _

_ He’s lucky _

_ Kurusuke: I'm lucky to have him _

_ This guy is so sweet and he's sooo cute _

_ Sorry I’m being cheesy _

_ Yujikku: Do you have a photo of him?  _

_ I want to see if he’s as cute as you describe him _

_ Kurusuke: I do but I'll keep his identity private for now but trust me he exists and he’s cute _

_ We don't even know what we look like irl? _

_ Funny if you see my boyfriend before you see a photo of me 😂 _

_ Yujikku: Ahaha yeah _

_ I bet you look breathtaking _

_ Kurusuke: No way _

_ You have to look good irl, your character fashion is always on point _

_ Yujikku: Thanks 😂 _

_ I love fashion _

_ Kurusuke: My boyfriend does too _

_ You know _

_ You kind of remind me of him not to sound weird _

_ Yujikku: What do you mean? _

_ Kurusuke: Idk _

_ You both have the same vibe  _

_ You know? _

_ You kinda type the same way _

_ Like you use the same vocabulary and stuff _

_ Yujikku: Ah really? _

_ Coincidences are weird, huh? _

_ You never know what's true and what's not and it’s confusing 😅 _

_ Kurusuke: Yeah 🤣 _

_ Yujikku: Random question _

_ Kurusuke: ? _

_ Yujikku: Have you ever heard of parallel universes? _

_ Kurusuke: That wild idea where there's like another version of us but in a whole different world? _

_ Yujikku: Yeah, like an alternative universe in those fanfics where some things are the same or canon and some things different  _

_ Do you believe in them? _

_ Kurusuke: Kind of? _

_ I wonder what alternative me is doing _

_ I hope he's not dying in some ditch somewhere  _

_ Yujikku: I hope mine is doing okay too _

_ I’m sure yours is doing fine 😂 _

_ Kurusuke: I can't imagine a me that's like me but not like me _

_ I hate that sentence  _

_ Yujikku: Would you want to meet that you? _

_ Kurusuke: Hmm  _

_ I don't know _

_ Wouldn't time collapse if we met our parallel selves? _

_ Yujikku: Probably? _

_ Think everything would just explode? _

_ Kurusuke: Nooooooo  _

_ I'm too young to explode 😭 _

_ Yujikku: I wouldn't want myself or you or anyone else to explode 😂 _

_ Kurusuke: It's fine if I don't meet any alternative me or anyone _

_ I'd be creeped out by the other Kurusuke _

_ I’m the only Kurusuke here 😤 _

_ Yujikku: A parallel world where I main a knight named Kurusuke and you main an archer named Yujikku in Jump Party 😵 _

_ Kurusuke: STOP _

_ NO _

_ THAT'S WEIRD _

_ Yujikku: The possibilities are endless!! _

_ Kurusuke: But I think I'm pretty happy knowing us as us you know? _

_ You're Yujikku and I'm Kurusuke _

_ Yujikku: You're right, it'd be weird if we met others versions of us _

_ But _

_ Isn’t it kinda like how we have a different online identity? Like “Yujikku” is both somewhat different and similar than… me behind a computer _

_ Kurusuke: Shit _

_ Omg you're right?? _

_ Kurusuke is alternative universe me whoa _

_ Yujikku: Do you think you're different online? _

_ Kurusuke: My online personality might be more open and accepting of others I think  
_

_ I like it more than my actual personality _

_ Yujikku: Right? _

_ The internet lets me feel somewhat normal and takes me away from reality _

_ Kurusuke: Big mood _

_ I think it's okay for us to act differently online if it makes us more comfortable _

_ Yujikku: Same here, I've always kept them separate  _

_ Kurusuke: You'd probably be disappointed with how I am in real life compared to me here 😅 _

_ Yujikku: No way _

_ But I think you'd be disappointed in MY real self _

_ Kurusuke: Shut up you're probably fine irl 😤 _

_ But maybe one day we'll find out _

_ Yujikku: Maybe one day…  _

_ Anyways I should do some work before sleeping _

_ Kurusuke: Aww 😭 _

_ This was a weirdly deep but interesting topic lol _

_ But yeah same... _

_ Goodnight Yujikku _

_ Yujikku: Goodnight Kurusuke _

_ Kurusuke: Would it be weird to say “I love you” (as a friend obvs) even tho I have a boyfriend?? _

_ Yujikku: Friends say it to each other all the time _

_ I mean we say it to each other constantly… with little hearts sometimes…  _

_ Kurusuke: Yeah you’re right _

_ I love you bro ❤️ _

_ Yujikku: Love you too 💙 _

_ Bro _

~~~

“Good morning Yama-chan.”

Ryosuke jumps, nearly spilling his coffee, as a pair of arms snake around his torso, a chin nuzzling his hair with a deep inhale. The warm, familiar cologne comforts him immediately, calming down after realizing who it is.

“Mmm good morning Yuto-kun.” He’s been arriving at work earlier than usual for the past couple weeks since confessing, just to see and chat with him for a few extra moments while the other employees come in to get ready for work. He enjoys the touch for a few moments before realizing where they were, shrugging him off and glancing around. “We’re in public right now, what if someone catches us?”

Disaster will strike if anyone were to catch them together like this at work. He’s always felt his coworkers disliking him ever since he started, but he brushed it off, thinking that it was just because he prefers to work alone or only with Yuto. But now he realizes it’s because of his closer relationship with Yuto after the rumors, making Ryosuke nervous since they're officially dating now. He feels the eyes on his back, the bitterness leaking out when they talk about Yuto.

“Relax, I’m like this to everyone.” Yuto sticks his tongue out, ruffling his hair. Ryosuke lets him for a second, giving him a death glare, before swatting him away. “Just a little extra towards you. And besides, no one else is here and we haven’t had much private time lately.”

The two of them agreed to keep their relationship a secret, continuing to be extra cautious, unsure when or if they’ll release their news. Only their close friends know about them. After Yuto revealed he’s conscious of others hurting him, the last thing he wanted to happen was to have Yuto get hurt or in trouble because of him. They couldn't be too careless and let the taboo of a boss dating one of their employees get out in public media, especially with the dating prohibition that ironically Yuto enforced. He doesn't even want to think about if a fangirl catches them together, his life guaranteed to end on the spot.   


Ryosuke is too young to die now.

“But we do need to keep this professional.” Yuto continues, with a small smirk, fiddling with his tie. “Or else I'll kiss you.”

_Says you_ , he purses his lips, debating if Yuto is challenging him or if it was just a tease, craving it but footsteps echoed down the hall. He’s been able to control himself before, but it’s getting difficult as the days drag on, already missing Yuto’s brief touch.

“I should've kissed you a long time ago to shut you up.” Ryosuke mutters under his breath, adjusting his hair and heading back to his desk, preparing his mind to focus on his work.

Even though they’ve been dating for a couple weeks, it didn't feel like it, having been unable to meet up for safety but also because they’ve been busy with work, new projects and developments appearing in their hands at the worst time. It takes all his willpower to try to act normal in front of everyone and focus on work, but all that’s running in his mind is Yuto.

Not that that’s any different than before.

As usual, Yuto takes responsibility for a great amount and Ryosuke’s been doing whatever he can to help his workload during the day since he's still forbidden from staying alone with him for overtime. It took several days of convincing, but Ryosuke managed to get Yuto to have everyone else stay for overtime for a few days to get more work done so he isn’t doing it all himself, despite some complaints from the others. He’s glad to still be able to help and see him for a little longer even if it’s not the two of them alone.

But it makes Ryosuke antsy, knowing that he has what he wants, but at the same time unable to fully have what he wants. He still can’t believe that he was able to have Yuto in the first place, whom thousands of others also want. He's got tough competition.   


When his lunch break arrives, he jumps from his seat, gathering his bag to head to the break room where he’s been meeting Yuto for lunch.

“Did you and Yuto make up or something?” a co-worker appears, stopping him.

“There was nothing to make up for in the first place.” Ryosuke averts his eyes, trying to get past.

“You guys are spending more time together again.”

“Huh. Really.” Ryosuke tried to sound uninterested.

If they weren’t talking about work, it was always about him and Yuto.

"You've been weirdly happy too."

"I'm always like this."

“You’re weird, Yamada-kun, I don’t know why he likes you.”

“Yeah I don’t either.”

Ryosuke finally makes it through his co-worker’s other questions about him and Yuto, avoiding saying anything controversial or suspicious despite wanting to scream out at the top of his lungs that they were dating.

But he kept himself quiet.

He walks into the break room, catching Yuto at their usual table looking down on his phone. He takes the opportunity to eye him in his suit, thinking about his coworker’s words and why someone like Yuto, who could have just about anyone he wants, became so interested in him. He takes several deep breaths to calm himself down before taking a seat across him, apologizing for being late.

“Did you do it?” Yuto mumbles after a brief conversation about work.

“Do what?”

“What I asked you to do.”

“Oh the program from earlier? Yeah I tested-”

“Not that, the other thing.”

Ryosuke frowns, wondering what he missed, when it hit him. He reaches into his bag, taking out two bento boxes.

“This?” Ryosuke offers him a box, holding in his laugh at how Yuto’s eyes sparkled, nodding quickly and standing to reach over the table but Ryosuke pulls it out of reach, giving him a taste of his own medicine when Yuto holds something up too high for him to reach. “You act like I haven’t been making you lunch for the past week.”

He always puts his all into making a bento for his boyfriend, picking only his best ingredients he can find. While he typically surprises him, he decided to let him request sometimes, putting extra effort into those.

“Because I still can’t believe you make something so delicious for me every time.” he grabs at the air, pouting with big puppy eyes.

He’s weak for those puppy eyes.

“We’ve cooked together before! Twice!” he rolls his eyes, handing the bento to him, holding back his smile as Yuto opens it, admiring today’s mix with Karaage as the star, waiting for his reaction when he takes a bite. “You know that I love cooking for others and I love cooking for you.”

"Just what I expected, homemade tastes 100 times better than store-bought, it's so juicy and delicious." Yuto sighs dreamily after the first taste. “I’m so lucky to love a chef.”

Cute. No matter how many times Yuto compliments his cooking, it still fills his heart that someone he loves enjoys his cooking.   


“I watched a couple of those cooking videos you talked about last night over text.” Yuto mentions, savoring another bite.

“What did you think?” he sits on the edge of his seat.

“I might have been snacking at midnight because of them.” Yuto confessed. “But I learned from them, I had no idea that you shouldn’t soften butter in the microwave.”

“It killed me inside when you did that in your cake baking video, I left so many angry comments.” Ryosuke shakes his head. “You just end up with melted butter instead of softened butter and it changes the chemical composition of the butter. I’ll teach you how to make a better cake for next time.”

“Ooh.” Yuto claps his hands. “I’ll be in your care, Yamada-sensei.”

Ryosuke takes out his phone, showing photos of previous cakes and desserts he’s baked before, taking pride in how pretty they came out. But if he had Yuto taking the photos instead...

“What’s your favorite cake-wait let me guess.” Yuto places his fingers on his temples, closing his eyes. “I’m picturing… strawberries… and cream.” he opens his eyes, picking up a strawberry slice from his bento and placing it into Ryosuke’s. “Strawberry shortcake.” he finishes with a snap.

“How did you know?” Ryosuke exaggeratedly gasps, taking a bite of the strawberry that was just given to him, despite having multiple of his own already, humming at the sweetness. “Now I want cake.”

“I could buy you a cake from the Johnny's-”

“Do not buy me a whole cake or I’ll get fat.” Ryosuke scolds. "And that place is way too expensive."  


“You need to eat more anyways, I don’t want you to lose your cute chubby cheeks.” Yuto uses his chopsticks to pretend to pinch his cheek.

“If I’m going to have a cake, I’d rather make it myself anyways.” He wonders if he has the ingredients at his house, making a mental checklist and planning a trip to the grocery store tomorrow.

Would it be weird for him to bring in a cake to work for Yuto?

“Watch, this weekend I’m going to cook for you and it’s going to be one of the best things you ever taste.” Yuto announces brimming with confidence.  


“Yeah right as if you-” Ryosuke pauses. “Wait, this weekend?”

Yuto blinks at him.

“Ah. I forgot to ask you out didn’t I?” Yuto chuckles but puts on a straight face, lowering his voice. "Come over this Saturday after your shift."

Ryosuke swallows at the thought of going to Yuto’s apartment, having only been there once and the drama that happened after that night. Not to mention what actually happened there. Even though they’re together now, he still feels awkward.

"I can’t do Saturday night." He had made plans to raid with the Chibis in Jump Party soon after his shift that night and couldn't double book. “And what about work? Aren’t you busy with your project?” Ryosuke bites his lip, feeling shitty for putting his games first, but he loves his friends too much to cancel despite how much he wants to be with Yuto alone where they don’t have to be cautious and he doesn't have to worry about being caught.

"I’m ahead in my project so I could have some free time, and I want to spend it with you. And I can’t do Sunday since I have meetings.” he frowns, swallowing. “We could possibly do next week but at least let me buy you a quick dinner this Saturday at a restaurant then?" he suggests.  


They decide it was a reasonable compromise for now, agreeing to talk over the details later after work. It seemed like a good start to see if people say anything about them in public together. Lunch ends quickly, they two lingering a bit longer together, reluctantly parting ways to refocus themselves on work. Ryosuke works as efficiently as he can, trying to get as much done as he can to relieve Yuto’s work.

As the day ends, Ryosuke waits for everyone to leave, making sure that they're alone before walking into Yuto's waiting arms.

Since they have been unable to meet up privately and only see each other during work, this was the only time they're unlikely to be caught with everyone busy leaving, using this time to exchange a kiss or two, and feel each other in their arms while they can before Ryosuke leaves to join the rush of people leaving.

But Ryosuke reluctantly leaves after a few quick exchanges, wishing he could be with Yuto for longer. When he returns home, he pulls up YouTube, playing Yuto's vlogs as background noise, smiling at his boyfriend's voice, the best way he can listen to him without having to call him.

He can't wait until he can meet up with Yuto again.

Just the two of them.

~~~

“ _ This is the part where you have to be careful and stay on the edge as much as possible, once the boss enters phase two, you can’t just run up to the boss like phase one or you will die." _

“See! I told you so!” Ryosuke points at his phone screen, a Kemono video of their previous night’s raid playing. “I thought we agreed to watch this video before we entered last night? You’re the reason why we kept dying.” he smacks Daiki’s arm next to him.

The Chibis were supposed to meet up today in person, except Chinen got called in for work, unable to make it. But Ryosuke and Daiki were still happy to meet up as just the two of them, meeting at their usual mall spot to have lunch and play games. It was later than usual, since the two of them ended up oversleeping, their gaming lasting into the late hours of the night.  


“I get impatient.” he shoots back, pushing Ryosuke. “This is why I hate this one.”

_ "Unless you’re Yabunbun who is weird and can tank the attacks. _ ”

"Look, it's possible." Daiki huffs pointing at Yabunbun's character in the midst of attacks while Piitan spams healing skills on him. "If I were Yabunbun."

“Which you're not him, Daikingu-san. Why can’t you be like him and have higher hp and defense?”

“Says the guy who kept being the first to die by not the boss, but the _minions_ and screamed every time… if only you were like Yuyaseba and had higher strength to kill them.”

“It's unfair how the minions were that strong! Besides, I’m not weak, look at these guns!” Ryosuke flexes his muscles, unsure how he manages to find time to work out while also balancing work and gaming.

“What guns?” Daiki squints, squeezing his arm. “Can’t feel them.”

"You don't need to, I know they're there."

"Does Yuto know too?"

"Shut up. I wanted to be with Yuto today too, but he’s busy." Ryosuke's mood shifts instantly, thinking about last night's dinner with him. 

Thankfully his friends excused him to be reasonably late yesterday, so he could accept Yuto’s offer for dinner.

They had met at a fairly popular restaurant, curious if they would get caught in a semi crowd of people. They entered in their suits, ready to pass it off as a business dinner if needed, but no drama arose there, pleased that it had gone well without any problems. There was someone who recognized Yuto, but there were second glances at Ryosuke to his relief. He'll be keeping an eye peeled on gossip sites if anything else pops up, but when he awoke this morning and checked, nothing out of the ordinary stood out.  


Ryosuke had wanted dinner to last longer, but he knew he shouldn't delay his gaming plans for long. B efore they parted ways, Yuto stops him, his words replaying in his head. 

“My offer still stands. Come over this weekend.”

Of course Ryosuke accepted, wishing he could kiss his lips but that wasn't the right time, settling for playfully shoving him, letting his hand linger on Yuto's arm. 

"So I'm just your plan B." Daiki sighs, bringing him back to reality.

"I wouldn't say that!" Ryosuke protested. "Chinen is my plan B but he's busy today. You're more like plan… K?"

"That low?!" Daiki wailed. "Well, you're my plan Z."

"As if anyone has that many plans!" Ryosuke rolls his eyes. “I wouldn't believe you have other friends.”

“I do have other friends! I even have friends that don’t play games.”

“Your coworkers?”

“... Yeah.”

“When do you think it’s acceptable for me to ask Yuto if he has a discord and play games with me online?” Ryosuke wonders aloud.

“I’m surprised you haven’t yet.”

“I can’t let him know my name is Kurusuke yet! He replied to at least one of my comments on his YouTube videos, you think he will recognize it?” he groans, embarrassed by the number of comments he's left on his videos without thinking.

How is Yuto going to react to him being all like "OMG I LOVE YOU AND YOUR VIDEOS YOU’RE THE FUNNIEST MAN ALIVE!!!!! 😂🤣" online but not like that in real life?

“I’m sure he’ll love it, trust me."

“I can’t show him my idiot gaming side either, what if he realizes I’m just a nerdy loser and realizes he doesn't like me anymore?” he bites his lip.  


“Yama-chan, I hope you realize you both work at a gaming company. The same company. I hate to say it, but of course you’re both huge gaming nerds.” Daiki points out.  


Ryosuke tries to argue but closes his mouth.

“Fuck.”

Ryosuke shut the stream down on his phone, about to ask Daiki if he wanted to go to the arcade to play games when he hears a familiar voice.

“What are you doing, Kei?”

Ryosuke turns back to his phone, certain that he turned the stream off, yet he still heard Yuyaseba’s voice. And Kei? Was there a Kei in the party?

“It is Dai-chan! Yuyan let’s go say hi.”

Daiki raises his head at the nickname, eyes searching past him, his eyes widening as he stands up.

“Inoo-chan? Takaki-kun?”

Ryosuke watches as a tall boy with mushroom style hair appears, taking Daiki’s hands and shaking them furiously followed by Yuya rushing after him.

"This is one of my friends from work, Inoo-chan." Daiki introduces. "Who also happens to be Takaki-kun's boyfriend."

"So you do have other friends, huh?" Ryosuke teases, greeting Inoo.

He examines Inoo for a bit, now knowing this was the man that took Yuya, who was once Yuto’s crush, wondering what about him is interesting.

"Yama-chan right?" Yuya points at him.

"My name is Yamada, but Yuto-kun and Dai-chan call me that." Ryosuke corrects him.

"Right, I'm used to hearing Yama-chan this, Yama-chan that." Yuya apologizes.

He knows that Yuto and Yuya plus his boyfriend are close friends, having been a couple of the people Yuto told that they were dating. Before he could ask what Yuto had been telling him about him, Inoo walked in closer than he would have liked, now examining him closely.

"So this is the legendary Yama-chan I hear about all the time." the mushroom boy spoke. 

"Legendary?" Ryosuke frowned.

"Yeah. You're the one that Yuto talks about right? The guy that he reeeeeallly l-ouch!" He was interrupted as Yuya elbowed him. "Why did you do that Yuyaseba-san?"  


Ryosuke froze, jaw open at Yuya currently scolding the mushroom not to be loud.

"You-what? Yuyaseba? You’re Yuyaseba? From Jump Party?"

Yuya takes a step back, chuckling sheepishly. 

“I am.” he scratches the back of his neck. “Made up the name a while ago, you know, my name, “Yuya” combined with the English word "lifesaver" to get “seba”. You play, Yamada-kun?”

Ryosuke gasps as a light bulb shone, the name making complete sense and how obvious it was right in front of his face.

"I feel stupid for not noticing before!” he laughs. “I do, and my gamer id is similar in a way. Take the English word "cool" to get “Kuru” and add part of my given name, “Suke” from Ryosuke and you get me, “Kurusuke”!” pointing to himself.  


"Oh yeah I-" Yuya stopped. "Kurusuke? You're Kurusuke?"

"Yeah! I love playing with you! So you already know Dai-chan here is Daikingu?" he places his hand on Daiki’s head.

“Y-yeah.” Yuya chuckled before muttering to himself. "Yama-chan is Kurusuke?"  


“Why does everyone use part of their name and an English word for their characters?” Inoo wondered aloud. “If I made a character it would be… Inoteri.”

“Everyone?” Ryosuke repeats, realizing that all his friends does it too. “I wonder if Yujikku does the same? But I don't know his real name and I'm bad at English... Do you know?" he asks Yuya.

Inoo gasps.

"You don't know Yujikku's real name? How?"

"We just call each other by our game names? Is it that weird?" Ryosuke defended, never having needed his actual name.  


"Yes it's weird? Aren't you two d- ouch! Uh really close?" He rubs his arm as Yuya coughed and accidentally elbowed him. 

Ryosuke frowns.

"I guess we're pretty close?" Ryosuke thinks. "We don't talk about ourselves as much though."

"You two play games together and even watch movies together over discord how…?" Inoo trailed off. 

"Of course we play games together we're friends! And I watch movies with Dai-chan too as friends." he defends. "We just recommend stuff to each other sometimes. We don't even do it often."

They’ve enjoyed a few movies at night when they couldn’t sleep, typing out their reactions and comments. But he does it with all his online friends, like the Chibis, an easy way to watch something together without being in person.  


"Oh my God." Inoo hollers, doubling over from laughing. "You’re pretty dumb, this is hilarious and I love it."

"I don't know if you're making fun of me for something..." Ryosuke purses his lips. "But Yujikku talks that much about me? He must be in love with me." he jokes. 

"Yeah he is." Inoo grins. "Seriously in love. Hey Yuya, remember when Hika was telling us how he kept asking Yabu to watch movies with him over discord before they started dating?"  


Yuya nods.

"And now they live together so they don't have to anymore." he turns to Ryosuke. "So Yujikku hasn't mentioned anything?"

“Not that I know of?” he replies, noticing out of the corner of his eye, Daiki shaking his head. “What about him?”

“You’ll find out soon.” Daiki butts in. "But hey Inoo-chan, what did you do with that customer from the other day?"

Ryosuke couldn't follow up as the topic changed quickly, frowning at his friend but he didn't interrupt. Soon, the couple decided they had to leave, wrapping up their conversation.

"I can't believe he doesn't know." Inoo giggled as they left, adding a wink.

"That was… weird. And you." he glares at Daiki who turned away whistling innocently. "You know what they know that I don't know about Yujikku don't you?"

"Maybe?" Daiki says sheepishly. "I'm waiting until you figure it out yourself because it is pretty funny."  


Ryosuke whines, shaking Daiki to try to get him to spill what he knows, his curiosity peaking. But Daiki kept his lips sealed repeating that he'll find out soon. He tries to connect what they discussed in his head, wishing he was in front of a board with red strings like he's trying to figure out a conspiracy theory. But before he can come to any conclusion, Daiki drags him to the arcade, and he loses himself in the games, only determined to win against his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the first part is okay with only their messaging, thought it would be interesting to not reveal their thinking process here... I also hope the pacing makes sense and it wasn't too much info dumping  
> Feel free to ask any questions/comment here or through twitter dms if you want~ Thank you for being patient and reading 💕


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for sexual content

Saturday. 8pm.

Ryosuke keeps repeating that in his mind so he doesn’t forget, despite having it written everywhere he could think of.

It’s the time when his shift at the store ends, which cannot be any slower, and he’ll be able to meet with Yuto afterwards.

The week had been painful, secretly exchanging flirty glances at each other during work, sending texts under their desks when they couldn’t talk in person, even hiding away during their weekly section dinner for a few kisses. It meant they had some extra work afterwards at home, but they put each other on video call to keep each other company.

He forces himself to pay attention and smile at each customer, keeping small talk short, for the moment the customer turns away, he finds himself glancing at the clock to make sure he leaves as soon as he can. His coworker who will be taking over his position tried asking why he was so fidgety about the time and Ryosuke almost spilled it all in his excitement, but left it as he had plans with someone after work.

The seconds tick by agonizingly, but the moment it hits 8, he leaps across the counter to clock out, almost forgetting to say goodbye and good luck to his coworker before rushing out the store. He messages Yuto, letting him know that he was on his way, getting a response in moments.

_Idiot Bunny💙: I can’t wait for you tonight 😘_

Neither can he.

Once he finally arrives at Yuto’s, he stands at the door for a moment, trying to calm his heart since he had sped over as fast as he could. When he composed himself enough, he knocked. The door opens and his heart gets caught up again as his eyes fall on his boyfriend, a wide smile on his face.

So much for blaming the walk over here.

As soon as the door closes behind him, Ryosuke falls into Yuto’s arms, breathing in his scent for a few long moments, pulling away only to be met with lips on his. They both smile into the kiss, as if they haven’t been intimate for ages, which is true since they had to always be on guard in public, unable to meet up privately until now.

But finally, they can let themselves go.

“Do you want to shower first since you just got out of work?” Yuto suggests after a few more short kisses, taking his jacket.

“Do I smell that bad?” Ryosuke teases, but he does feel sweaty and gross even though he spends most of his shift standing around.

Having to smile and speak to people makes him work hard, exhausting him.

“Nah.” Yuto leans into his neck, taking a long inhale. “You always smell good.”

“I know I’m gross.” Ryosuke pushes him off, wanting to be clean if Yuto was going to do that. “I’m using your shower.”

“I have some older clothes that I think should fit you this time that I’ll leave at the door.” Yuto calls after him as he heads to the bathroom.

So he’s not planning what he did last time.

Ryosuke enters the bathroom, more familiar with it now, examining the skin care products organized together. There’s still a moment of hesitation as he strips his clothes off, but he shakes his head, reminding himself that even if Yuto were to for some reason come in while he’s showering they’re literally boyfriends.

Though, he wouldn’t mind this time around.

As expected, Yuto didn’t bother him, showering as fast as he could so he could meet back up with him. Of course, he made sure to use plenty of Yuto’s shampoo.

Dressed in the clothes Yuto left for him, which did fit him comfortably, he found Yuto cooking the ramen that he bought with his discount for a quick dinner.

“You know I wouldn’t have minded cooking.” Ryosuke mentions as Yuto made him sit at the table, watching Yuto add extra ingredients to the ramen.

“You just finished working and I could handle this much.” Yuto retorts. “You’re always cooking, just let me treat you this time.”

“You technically worked today too? Filming for YouTube, right?” Ryosuke counters back.

“Yeah but shh.” Yuto sticks his tongue out at him, paying attention to their meal before Ryosuke could mirror that.

Ryosuke supposes he can have Yuto do this one thing for him.

The smell of ramen wafted through the air, Ryosuke hungrier than he thought he would be, surprised that Yuto was able to make instant ramen taste this delicious. It did taste like a familiar recipe, one that he tried after watching a YouTube video from the channel he likes and recommended to him, smiling as Yuto was picking up tips from them. Even though he knew he could make something better, he held his tongue, pleased with Yuto’s cooking for once.

After they eat their dinner, Yuto jumps up with a grin.

“I have a surprise for you.”

Ryosuke frowns, Yuto leaving the kitchen for a minute, returning with a large, fancy looking silver platter. It’s placed in front of him and Ryosuke glares at Yuto, suspicious.

"Tada~" Yuto uncovers the platter to reveal two servings of beautiful strawberry shortcakes.

"Where did you buy this from? It looks amazing!" Ryosuke's jaw dropped, mouth starting to water as he examined the delicate details.

There’s intricate white flowers and swirls made with light whipped cream, topped neatly with plenty of slices of fresh strawberries with some nestled between the layers of yellow cake. Temptation almost made him steal one of his favorite glistening fruits on top, but couldn't bring himself to ruin the beauty of the dessert.

Especially since it’s a gift from Yuto.

"I didn’t buy it." Yuto brags. “I baked it here in my own kitchen.”

Ryosuke squints at him in disbelief, switching his gaze between the beautiful cake and the cocky man (who may also be beautiful).

"No you didn't."

"I did."

"There's no way you could make something like this." Ryosuke recalls one of the last “cakes” he tried making, burnt and misshapen, which didn’t make it onto his social media accounts for obvious reasons. This one is way too pretty to have been made by the hands of this walking disaster. "It's as if someone like _me_ made it."

He compares it to strawberry shortcakes he’s made before, already able to tell how high quality it looks. Considering it’s Yuto, it must be made with expensive ingredients, all of the highest quality.

"Okay I might have gotten a little help with decorating it from my artist friend.” Yuto admits. “But I swear I made the cake on my own… with some supervision."

"I wouldn't have been surprised if you burned your kitchen down if you weren't supervised." Ryosuke muttered.

"Will you try it?" Yuto holds out a fork.

"A cake made by you? Sure, the worst that can happen is I die." he takes the fork.

"You won't die I promise!" Yuto protested. "At least... I don’t think you will? I made so many of these and adjusted the recipe along the way, but this one was mine and my friend’s favorite. And he’s still alive... to my knowledge.”

“I don’t trust your taste buds…” he rolls his eyes. “But if someone else said that then I guess I’ll give it a try.” But before he could dig in, Yuto stopped him.

“Wait, first let me get my camera.” he rushes off, leaving Ryosuke to have to wait as he takes his sweet time, doing his best to resist the urge to at least try a strawberry screaming his name.

“That’s right, you have to take 100 photos for the perfect one for Instagram before we eat." he taps his fork on his chin as Yuto returns.

"I already took photos of the cake when I finished baking it so you wouldn’t have to wait for that. I'll upload them on my social media accounts tonight, I didn't want you to see them and ruin the surprise." he points the camera at him, adjusting the settings. “I just want photos of you.”

Ryosuke blushes as the shutter goes off, the camera completely focused on him and not the cake like he expected. He thought he was getting used to Yuto taking random photos of him, but guess not.

"Good because I don't think I can wait any longer." Ryosuke licks his lips, trying to ignore the camera, picking up a strawberry with a shaking hand and placing it in his mouth as he hears the camera shutter go off again. Fresh, sweet and juicy. "Mmm 10/10." he hums, pleased as the juices linger on his tongue, somehow tastier than the usual strawberries he's eaten.

"That's the best grade I've ever gotten from you with my cooking." Yuto gasps, wiping away a fake tear.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, I haven't tried what you made yet." Ryosuke scolds him. He hesitates as he takes a forkful of the fluffy yellow cake, easily scooping up some of the light cream and chopped strawberries.

Appearance wise, it looks fine, but just because something looks pretty or delicious doesn’t always mean it is. He glances at Yuto, clutching his camera with a gulp. No matter what, Ryosuke will say he likes it to make him happy because he could see the care and effort that Yuto went through to make this for him.

Raising the fork to his mouth, he takes a bite and his eyes widen as the gentle flavor spreads on his tongue on contact, bringing him back to an innocent past time of running around strawberry fields. The cake itself is moist yet light and airy, perfectly complimenting the gentle sweetness of the cream and strawberries. It was all a beautiful combination of flavors melting in his mouth.

"What do you think?" Yuto whispers and he snaps back to reality, forgetting that Yuto was waiting for his opinion.

"It's…” he takes another bite to see if he has the same pure experience. He does. "It’s good? Like it's actually good, it's not overcooked or too sweet… it's just… perfect. Are you sure you actually made this?" It was far better than he expected from a cake made by Yuto, shocked as Yuto nodded his head with a bright smile. "This is a 9/10 cake."

"Why did I lose a point?" Yuto pouts. “Didn’t you say it’s perfect?”

"Maybe if you adjusted the recipe a tad bit more, a little more zest?" Ryosuke suggests, but it was already truly delicious, more than a 10/10. He just said that so Yuto can find a way to improve his baking skills, knowing he strives for perfection.

Déjà vu.

"Tough judge." Yuto muttered under his breath, taking a bite of his own cake and pointing his fork at him. “I think it tastes pretty good but next time I’ll get that 10/10 I'll show you.”

While they ate their cakes, Ryosuke isn’t sure how they started messing around, getting a bit of whipped cream on both their noses and fingers, blaming Yuto for starting this mess despite his protests. Yuto tosses a strawberry at him, reacting quickly to catch it in his mouth, resulting in a high five as they laugh over it. While they wrestled and tried to smudge more cream on the other, Yuto kept taking photos of him with his clean hand, telling him he looked cute with whipped cream on his face. Ryosuke taunts him, flinging cream at him, but misses on purpose just so he doesn’t accidentally hit the camera.

“How many photos of me do you have?” Ryosuke asks once they calm down and clean up both the kitchen and themselves.

“Not enough.” Yuto answers. “I could take 100 photos of you and each one is beautiful, but it’s never enough.”

_I could take 100 photos of something and still not have a single good one._

“There’s no way I look good in every photo.” Ryosuke rolls his eyes.

“You do look good in every single one. Look at this one, I like when you make this face even though I couldn’t get your whole face.” Yuto shows him a photo from when they were at his house cooking. He was facing away from him, so he had no idea he had taken it, but yet he was still smiling in the side view, eyes gentle with a soft but genuine smile that he didn’t know he could make.

“Do I make that face often?” he tries to replicate it and although he can’t see himself he’s sure he isn’t doing it right.

“Not really. I usually only see it when you’re alone at work and you do something you're happy with.” Yuto admires the photo. “So when I saw it when we were together I knew I had to capture it.”

Yuto continues to show different photos of him, some that he was aware of and some that he wasn’t, surprised by the amount. Ryosuke insists that some of them were ugly angles or weird faces but Yuto always found a way to counter his complaints. It could be the way the light reflected on his hair or the way his body language expressed his emotions. There was always something that he didn’t notice about the photo that Yuto liked.

It made him shy, hearing so many compliments about him. It felt pure and genuine, with each specific compliment clearly having been thought out beforehand.

But he was also curious in the not so pure photos.

"Can I see the other photos now?" Ryosuke asks carefully. "From last time I was here?"

He still hasn't seen those photos from that night yet, Yuto having wanted to show him in person privately.

Yuto raises an eyebrow.

"Those are in a different camera, let me get it."

As Yuto gets up to retrieve the other camera, Ryosuke wonders if each of his cameras has a different theme, wondering if there are other photoshoots like his in that same camera. He pushes that thought out of his head, not wanting to think about his boyfriend being around other naked people.

Yuto returns, and Ryosuke isn’t sure what the difference is in the camera, looking almost identical to the previous one.

“This one has better specs for capturing skin better.” Yuto explains as if reading his mind, handing him the camera.

Ryosuke clicks through the photos, Yuto intently watching him or at the photos, he’s not sure. He feels the awkward tension in the warm up photos, where he didn’t know where to place his limbs, stiff. Gradually, he visibly relaxes though, remembering how Yuto gave him advice.

Then, there were the photos where Ryosuke had brought up the idea for the naughty photoshoot, starting off with just showing off his shoulder. He thought he would look as awkward as he felt during that, but in the photo he seemed serious, his own eyes piercing through him. There was a kind of innocence yet at the same time a fierceness. There was a change in his eyes as he clicks through, the memories flashing through his mind. Yuto’s words, his own thoughts about Yuto when he was told to think of something hot, only multiplying as the photoshoot goes on.

Is this what he looked like from Yuto's point of view? It was utterly obvious how much he wanted him just from his expressions, especially when they were both on the couch, Ryosuke lying on his back with Yuto kneeling on his thighs. Hell, he's pretty sure he can see what looks like the beginning of a tent in his own loose pants and he’s certain Yuto took note of it with the angles.

"What do you do with all your photos?" Ryosuke dares to ask, voice wavering slightly.

"If I don't end up posting them online and I like them, I just keep them stored in folders so I can reference them, for future ideas." he answers, taking the camera from him and clicking through the photos.

"How about mine? How often do you look at them?"

Yuto swallows before answering, eyes fixed on the camera.

"A few times. You just look so… irresistible in them."

The current photo on the camera glared back at him, a shot of him lying down with half lidded eyes, touching his own nipples, inviting Yuto to touch him too.

"Did you get any ideas from looking at them?" Ryosuke licks his lips.

"So many ideas." Yuto turns to him. "And not just photo ideas."

Ryosuke swallows, noticing a slight change in his eyes, darkening. Well, that makes two of them.

"Care to enlighten me about those other ideas?"

Yuto smirked, responding by pressing their lips together. Ryosuke sighs into it, slightly chapped but warm lips against his sensitive ones fitting perfectly and moving together.

"Every time I looked at them they kept sparking memories." Yuto says between brushes of lips. "Of how much I wanted to kiss and touch you but couldn't."

“Now you can.” Ryosuke hums hazily, just wanting those lips back against him. He knew how much he wanted that too during that moment, and now that he was his, Yuto is given full permission to touch him as he likes.

"Do you want to try again?" Yuto pulls away, raising an eyebrow. “A sexy photoshoot?”

"Seriously?" Ryosuke licks his lips as fingers rub circles on his hip.

"I was thinking maybe this time… we can do what you wanted?" Yuto leans closer, not quite close enough to kiss him.

"What I wanted?" his heart speeds up.

"Yeah, finish what we started last time." Yuto undoes the first button of his shirt for him. "You could show me more skin... " he places a hand on his thigh, leaning into his neck. "I could touch you...” A squeeze, hot breath against his ear. “Have you wither under me…” The hand relocates to his butt, a flicker of tongue. “And I will capture. Every. Moment. Of you."

By the end of his words, it was only a whisper in his ear, Ryosuke shivering under his spell, already dizzy. He could only simply nod quickly, unable to trust his voice to come out as he wants.

_Finish what we started last time._

Yuto stands up, motioning him to follow, Ryosuke on his tail without a second thought. They end up in Yuto’s bedroom, cluttered with hobby-like items, yet having a royal atmosphere to it. He’s led to sit on the edge of the bed, the soft mattress sinking under him.

"I have an idea for some interesting photos." Yuto grinned before Ryosuke could pull him in for a desperate kiss. "Stay there."

A wink and Yuto was out of the room, leaving him alone on the bed. Ryosuke peers around the room, familiarizing himself with it, fisting the sheets beneath him. He might be here more often if this goes well after all.

When Yuto returned, his hands were behind his back, a mischievous smile on his face.

"What is that for?" he shifts in his spot.

"I might have accidentally bought too many ingredients for the cake." Yuto reveals his hands, holding out a container with some strawberries, Ryosuke’s eyes widening.

"You're fucking insane."

Yuto winks again but places the items to the side, holding up his camera, Ryosuke forgot they were planning a photoshoot and not just-

“Relax for me?”

Ryosuke follows Yuto’s instructions as they take their warm-up photos, feeling tense but less so than the first time they did this, relaxing much quicker this time. He remembers what he felt and what he thought, manifesting those memories to bring him into the model atmosphere.

Meaning mainly Yuto.

Since they had only just discussed those previous photos of him, Ryosuke’s skin already burns with desire to be touched, completely in the mood and anticipating what’s going to happen next, knowing that Yuto is willing to take it further this time, to finish what Ryosuke began but Yuto had pulled away before they got into it.

It makes him almost giddy as Yuto circles around him, the camera shutter going off every so often as Yuto picks different angles. With the camera covering half his face, he couldn’t exactly tell what the other was thinking, hoping that he’s doing well.

“Unbutton your shirt more.”

Ryosuke nods at Yuto’s command, realizing this is why Yuto chose this shirt for him. So he did plan something with his outfit this time too after all. He follows, slowly undoing his buttons one by one, Yuto capturing it on camera. He stops halfway, moving a hand to brush back his bangs from his eyes and Yuto suddenly raises his voice for him to stop moving, freezing him in place as he thinks he did something wrong. But Yuto comes up to him, gently adjusting his limbs and bangs over his eyes to be in a certain position while still comfortable enough.

“Right there, perfect.”

He exhales, relieved he didn’t mess anything up, hoping it didn’t show on his face, glancing away from the camera, knowing that Yuto liked that last time, trying not to smile as Yuto hummed, calling him pretty.

With his free hand, his fingers ghost over what’s exposed of his chest, tracing lines on his skin, trying not to shiver under the brief touches. He makes eye contact with Yuto, glancing at his fingers and back to his eyes, wondering if Yuto was imagining what he was, having Yuto’s fingers on him instead. He roams under his shirt, circling around his nipples and occasionally brushing over them, letting small noises out.

It’s only the beginning and Ryosuke was already this affected by Yuto, his breath slightly labored as his imagination ran wild. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Yuto was going to make him do next, what _he_ was going to do to _him_. His eyes flicker beside him, catching the container of strawberries.

“Go ahead and take a strawberry.”

Yuto read his mind again, swallowing as he reached over for a fruit, rolling it in between his fingers, trying to think of what he should do with it. He looks innocently at the camera, raising the fruit to just past his lips to let Yuto take a few photos, stepping forward to get a close up of his face.

“How do you look soft and innocent yet hot at the same time like that?” Yuto mumbles, shaking his head.

“I try.” Ryosuke smiles for a brief second before falling back into serious mode.

He changes position to make the photos more interesting, reaching behind him for a pillow to lean on with the strawberry still barely in his mouth, his hair falling over his eyes. While shifting, he feels the tightness in his pants, willing himself to ignore it, but wondering if Yuto can see it through his lens, if there was a photo of it already. Maybe he does prefer the looser pants Yuto gave him last time, but perhaps he planned for that as well.

The strawberry traces his lips, pretending that Yuto was the one touching and kissing them, the texture of the fruit rubbing against his thin and sensitive skin. His tongue flickers out and he catches the way Yuto’s face twitched. So he does it again, letting his tongue linger longer on the fruit, slowly licking around the berry.

“Your lips and tongue...” Yuto licks his own, the huskiness in his voice that Ryosuke likes. “I like how they’re wrapped around the strawberry.”

“Oh yeah?” Ryosuke raises an eyebrow. “What else do you want them wrapped around?”

This time Yuto raises an eyebrow, whistling.

“You know exactly what.”

Ryosuke grins at that response, pointedly glancing downwards at Yuto's pants, certain his must be feeling tight as well. He starts to kiss the fruit a few times before pushing it back into his mouth, slowly taking a bite. The juices drip from the side of his mouth down his chin and he has to resist the urge to wipe it away as Yuto closes in on him, rapidly taking photos. After he thinks Yuto took enough, he moves his hand away, using his tongue to lap up the strawberry juices left behind around his lips and his fingers, loudly sucking on them.

Yuto leans forward and he’s surprised when lips press next to his lips.

“There was still some strawberry on you.” Yuto murmurs, this time properly kissing his lips. “You taste sweet, like strawberry.”

“Gee, I wonder why.” Ryosuke giggles a little, lightly hitting Yuto.

“Do you want to wash your hands?” Yuto asks, pointing at his hand still holding the strawberry leaves.

“I’ll be fine, let’s continue.”

His hand might be a little sticky, but he’ll manage. He’s just going to get more sticky soon anyways so there’s no point in cleaning up now. Thankfully none of the red juices dripped onto his shirt.

“Alright, we can continue.” Yuto nods, stepping back. “Then how about finishing unbuttoning that shirt of yours?”

Ryosuke grins, agreeing that it's about time he starts showing more skin. With a long exhale, he unbuttons the rest of his shirt, sighing with the cool air hitting his hot skin, smirking at Yuto as he reveals more of his chest and stomach. Despite wanting to do this, shyness overcame him again as Yuto clearly focused on his body, nervously laughing and almost covering himself back up.

“Your body is beautifully toned.” Yuto gawks. "Your abs are so defined."

That gave Ryosuke more confidence, shifting so that Yuto can photograph them properly, flexing to make himself pop, dragging his hand across his skin, making sure to feel the dips of his muscles. He couldn't help himself to brush his crotch, playing with the waistband of his pants, desperate to feel some friction. He pushes his shirt over his shoulders, showing off his arms, something he's proud of his body and he's pleased when Yuto huffs, trying to get better shots of them.

"Take your shirt off."

There’s impatience in Yuto's voice, low and demanding and Ryosuke wants to tease him more to hear more of that, but he wants this to go further as well so he does that, removing his shirt.

"Can I take my pants off too?"

Okay, maybe he's impatient too. 

Yuto hesitates for a moment and he's about to start taking them off when Yuto speaks.

"In a minute, let me get a few shots of you shirtless."

Ryosuke waits, trying different poses to capture his body, letting Yuto direct him as he moves around the bed.

Then finally, Yuto gives him permission to take his pants off. 

As he thought, he's hard as he takes his underwear off, feeling his erection hit the air. He shifts uncomfortably, aware of Yuto ogling him as he strips, holding the camera while he’s completely clothed.

"This is… kind of embarrassing." Ryosuke breathed as Yuto focused the camera closer to his cock, twitching under Yuto's scrutiny.

It made him feel awkward, wanting to touch himself, or have Yuto touch him instead of taking photos. 

"It's nice, seeing you all hard like this." Yuto teased.

"What the-?" Ryosuke squeaks as Yuto quickly gives him a single firm down stroke, before taking a step back. "Yuto!?"

"Feels nice too."

 _Felt nice for me too_ , Ryosuke thinks, biting the inside of his cheek, wishing he would do it again.

Yuto hands him a blanket, requesting that he cover his lower half for a few photos, so Ryosuke does that, relaxing and stretching on the sheets.

"I love your neck." Yuto sighs, telling him to tilt it more. "Well, everything actually, now that I've seen it all... but your neck tempts me most of all to mark it up."

Ryosuke blushes, his hand automatically reaching for his neck, realizing that Yuto has now seen him fully naked. He wants Yuto to mark him too, but he knows it's a bad idea.

"Not fair, I haven't seen you yet."

Yuto just laughs, moving on top of his thighs, a similar angle than the first time they did this, to take some aerial shots. 

Ryosuke touches his body, gliding across his skin and moaning softly, now that Yuto was close enough to hear, noting Yuto's labored breathing and swallowing. He dares to take one of Yuto's wrists, bringing it to his chest, pleased when Yuto doesn't object, joining his and dragging two fingers on him and pinching a nipple, feeling better than his own touch. Shivers rack his body as long fingers trace his side, tickling him. But Ryosuke is impatient, having Yuto on top of him and he knows he's hard and pretty sure that Yuto must be too. So he does what he did before, reaching up and pulling Yuto down to kiss him.

They kiss hard, Ryosuke loving how the fabric of Yuto’s clothes rubs against his skin, setting the blanket covering him aside. But he wants to feel his skin on his, hands blindly grab onto the hem of his shirt, trying to urge it off, Yuto pulling back and helping him pull it off.

"Your lips… need a photo." he stumbles off him with his camera, taking a few photos of his lips, red and slightly swollen from the attention.

While Yuto does that, Ryosuke admires Yuto’s body, having only seen it in photos online, and he can say for certain that it’s better in real life. He reaches forward to trace his muscle but Yuto doesn’t notice, stepping back to continue taking photos of him, focusing on his cock.

“Touch yourself.”

Ryosuke bites his lip at the low command, wrapping a hand loosely around himself, sighing at the contact. He wishes Yuto’s hand was back around him, but he knew Yuto wanted the photos. So he gives him a show, slowly stroking himself and moaning, the sensation more intense than usual with Yuto watching him, capturing the moment forever on camera. He wonders if Yuto will look back at these photos later and masturbate to them, remembering exactly what happened and reliving it.

“Ugh Yuto can we put the camera aside for now?” Ryosuke finally asks, wanting more from Yuto.

Now.

Yuto licks his lip but agrees, setting the camera down and moving closer, cupping his face and crashing their lips together. Ryosuke gasps into the kiss, the force pushing him into the bed, arms frantically wrapping themselves around Yuto’s torso. He can hardly keep up with Yuto’s attack, head spinning as they exchange several open mouth kisses.

This was where they left off last time, kissing each other hungrily with Yuto on top of him. There was a shred of doubt that wondered if Yuto was going to pull away like he did before but it sizzled away as a tongue met his own and then he was lost again.

His hips thrust up involuntarily, hitting against Yuto and he groans in response, pushing back. Ryosuke yelps into Yuto’s mouth, his pants rough against his bare erection, whimpering as his hands grab onto his waistband. The taller realizes quickly, pulling back and removing his pants. A noise escapes both their lips as he discards the rest of his clothes to the side to be forgotten, moving back in to continue kissing as their erections meet each other, rubbing to create wonderful friction.

Yuto's lips fall to his neck, leaving several open mouth kisses, careful to not leave a visible mark, but he feels Yuto suck briefly at a few spots, wondering if Yuto lost himself, teeth lightly scraping him and a tongue soothing his bites.

“I need you.” Ryosuke chokes out, too sensitive.

Yuto reaches to the side, retrieving a bottle of lube and a condom, quickly coating a few fingers with the substance. Ryosuke’s breath hitches as a wet finger touches his rim, gently circling around the muscle. He hasn’t had sex in awhile, not since before Yuto first came into the picture years ago, potential boyfriends flocking towards the popular boy. Not that he was interested in many people, remembering his other brief work crush.

A high pitched noise rings through the air as Yuto inserts a finger into him and thoughts of anyone else are forced out of his head, the man in front of him being the only one he can think of. With the second finger in him, he takes deep breaths to calm himself down, squirming as the long fingers curl around inside, scissoring him open. As a third finger enters him, so does a hand wrap around his cock, stroking him slowly. It helps him to forget about the slight burn in his ass as Yuto gently stretches him, thoroughly preparing him despite begging him to hurry. He moans loudly as Yuto prods the right spot in him, applying more pressure against it.

“I think I’m more than good now.” Ryosuke gasps out, wanting more before he finishes with just Yuto's magical fingers.

“Okay, tell me if you feel any pain or discomfort.” Yuto slips his fingers out, opening the condom and rolling it over himself, applying extra lube while giving himself a few strokes.

Ryosuke can hardly believe that he was about to have sex with Nakajima Yuto, whom he knows no matter the gender there are people who wish they could be him right now.

But at the moment, he forgot that Yuto is a popular boy that is known by an online alias, forgot that he used to hate who that was. Because during this moment he was just Yuto to him. A man that he was lucky to meet, lucky to be assigned to his section, lucky to realize that he’s in love and to be loved back. He knows Yuto far better than others know him, loves Yuto for more than what others might love him for. Yet, he knows he doesn’t know everything about Yuto, not everything that he could fall in love with.

He knows there’s more to him that brings them close.

With that being in his head, Yuto enters him and Ryosuke's head falls back in ecstasy.

It’s slow, Yuto taking extra precautions to make sure he wasn’t in any pain even with all of the careful preparation beforehand. Oddly, it reminded him of how uncaring he believed Yuto was when he first met him, how he thought that Yuto didn’t care about his well being at work and only wanted to cause him hell. Then gradually, Yuto started to be more caring towards him, giving himself extra work just so that he could make sure that Ryosuke was doing okay and improving his own work.

As Yuto bottoms out, he leans over, peppering his face with gentle kisses and whispering sweet words to him, telling him that he’s beautiful and doing amazing. It comforted him to no ends, the intense sensations different than what he was expecting after the photoshoot where Yuto said similar words. But they had a different effect, making him feel loved rather than just hot.

He can’t stop whimpering as Yuto begins to thrust, each slow movement sending pleasure throughout his veins, pushing into all of the right spots in him as if he already knows his body well, as if they have made love before despite never having done so before. Hands squeeze his thighs, lightly scratching at his skin, his own hands lost in the sheets. When the speed increases, a larger hand covers his, gently intertwining their fingers together, keeping Ryosuke from falling apart.

"Yuto, fuck, I'm going to come." Ryosuke cries out, begging his body to last longer for Yuto's sake but he was already so built up, from the photoshoot, touching himself, and the fingering that he was already so close to the edge.

The hand on his thigh relocates to his cock, Yuto thrusting faster into him while firmly stroking him, pushing him over, calling out Yuto's name. He can only gasp, legs trembling as Yuto helps him through his orgasm, prolonging the pleasure with their connection.

Yuto pulls out of him and Ryosuke whines from sensitivity, hazily observing Yuto remove the condom, stroking himself.

"W-wait." Ryosuke crawls over to him, taking his hand away from his cock. "Allow me to help." 

He licks his lips and opens his mouth to suggest a blowjob and Yuto groans, directing his cock to his mouth.

Ryosuke happily takes it in, lazily sucking.

"Fuck, Ryosuke." Yuto moans, tangling his fingers into his hair, just barely pulling him in.

Using his tongue, he works around Yuto’s length just as he did earlier with the strawberry, coating him with saliva to help twist his hand, paying careful attention to the pitched noises Yuto makes. It’s a piece of cake for him to find where he’s most sensitive, attacking those spots to get the most out of Yuto.

After all, he also feels like he knows Yuto’s body somehow.

It doesn’t take long for Yuto to warn him of his peak, Ryosuke opening his mouth to catch his come, wincing as the warm fluid hit his cheek, stroking him until he calms down from his high.

There was a moment of silence before Yuto cups Ryosuke’s face, bringing it up to him and pressing their foreheads together, glowing and smiley. He drops a few soft kisses, just lips barely against lips, whispering sweetly to each other and giggling.

Ryosuke was still trying to gather his thoughts together, but all he could think about is how happy he is in the moment to be with Yuto, gazing into his soft eyes.

But then Yuto swipes his thumb across his cheek, collecting the come he missed, showing it to him.

“And that completes the strawberries and cream.”

Which resulted in Ryosuke whacking Yuto’s arm as the taller one laughed.

They both head to the bathroom to clean themselves up, exhaustion catching up to the both of them. Collapsing onto the bed, Ryosuke cuddles against Yuto, resting his head on his bare chest, neither of them bothering to wear shirts.

“Can I stay the night?” Ryosuke mumbles against his skin.

“Hm sure.” Yuto mumbles back into his hair, pulling him in tighter.

Ryosuke relaxes into the warm touch, glad that Yuto didn’t kick him out this time, content with finally being able to be pressed against the one he loves, drifting off together. There's a sense of safety, of security in those arms, molding together perfectly.

Luckily, it was Sunday tomorrow and they didn’t have work at their company, so they don’t have to worry about leaving or entering at different times to not get caught. Ryosuke wishes he didn’t have to worry about little stuff like that, wanting to drag Yuto out for a date on his free day, let the world know that he loves this man.

Honestly, he had doubts before with his relationship with Yuto, anxious of having to be secretive all the time, stealing glances at each other. But after tonight, those doubts faded away, feeling close and connected to Yuto.

He can’t wait to spend more time with him, anticipating every minute together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Photoshoot 2.0... I hope I made it distinct from the first one! I at least had some fun writing this one so I hope it was enjoyable with the fluff and the bit of smut 🙂
> 
> Thank you as usual for all your kind words and feedback! 💕


	20. Chapter 20

A shiver wakes Ryosuke up, arms stretching out for a pillow for warmth, fists bumping into something that wasn’t as soft as expected followed by a grunt. His eyes groggily open, trying to adjust to the light in the room, tensing as a weight shifts the bed in front of him. Once his eyes take in the blinding view of the person lying down facing him, eyes still closed, he relaxes instantly.

That’s right, he had fallen asleep next to Yuto, his boyfriend.

The thought spreads a smile across his face, unable to believe that someone so stunning could be his. He observes his beautiful love for a bit, worried that he accidentally woke him up by punching his stomach, but Yuto just shifted, face relaxing. Ryosuke’s hand moves on its own to brush away a bit of hair from his face so he could see more, holding in a giggle as Yuto’s nose scrunches a bit as his hair tickles him.

Close up, Ryosuke is able to see the details on Yuto’s face that he hasn’t taken in person, so different from the close up photos he’s seen on social media. From his long eyelashes to each mole, he has to actively resist the urge to trace over them or his hand would impulsively move again. The light scar above his upper lip stands out, having only briefly noticed it before since it’s often edited out of his professional photos. He wishes it wasn’t, the little flaw making him look more beautiful, still perfect in his eyes.

Before he loses control and kisses each mark on his face, Ryosuke slowly moves, trying not to wake him up, successfully getting out of bed to his relief. He searches the floor for his shirt from yesterday, grimacing as he feels a little dirty but he doesn't want to take another one of Yuto’s. He would have to rummage through his closet and he still doesn’t want to wake Yuto up just yet.

Roaming around, he finds the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge. There’s not much, but he manages to collect some ingredients that he could work with. A few eggs, some veggies and thankfully there’s some rice in the pantry or he would have gone feral. Is most of the food that Yuto eats take out? He supposes that Yuto’s usually busy with his work that he doesn’t cook for himself and can afford to order food all the time. If he had Yuto’s money he would spend it all on high quality ingredients… but maybe that’s just the chef in him speaking.

As the eggs are on the pan sizzling and he’s preparing the side dishes, Ryosuke reasons to himself that Yuto spends most of his money from work and YouTube on his ever growing collection of cameras and his drums. Ryosuke would love the money to build a new gaming computer, more RAM, another hard drive, a new motherboard. Maybe buy a new headset too. It runs fine for the most part, but he always loves upgrading when he can afford to. Though he would also absolutely end up spending more money on games like Jump Party. He wonders what kind of computer Yuto has, if he has expensive gaming specs... though Yuto doesn't seem like he plays many games anyways.

“Am I still dreaming?”

A deep voice makes Ryosuke jump, turning to see a half asleep Yuto at the entrance, rubbing his eyes. His hair was a mess, loose strands of dark hair flopping over his face. He must not have thought to grab a shirt like Ryosuke did, his eyes unable to resist tracing over his body.

Plus, his morning voice is hot.

“Unless I’m dreaming too.” Ryosuke replies, turning away before his thoughts go downhill.

“Mmm smells good.” Warm arms wrap loosely around Ryosuke’s torso, chin on top of his head, inhaling deeply. “Haven't had someone cook breakfast for me in a while.”

Ryosuke’s skin tingles from the warmth sandwiched between Yuto and the sizzling pan, nearly forgetting about the latter with Yuto distracting him.

“I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed but I guess that idea is thrown out the window.” Ryosuke pouted, wishing he finished cooking faster to see Yuto’s reaction when he woke him up with a hot meal ready.

“What if I head back to bed and pretend I’m still sleeping then-”

“Too much work.” Ryosuke interrupts, rolling his eyes. “I’ll just surprise you another day. Just sit at the table and I’ll handle the rest.”

There was a pause before Yuto released him from his hug and Ryosuke regrets telling to sit instead of sticking around, missing his contact. Yuto leaves for a bit, unsurprisingly returning with a camera, taking photos of Ryosuke as he cooks. 

"I'm labeling these as "My Wife"." Yuto announces. "I should print some photos out… but some I won't be able to display openly."

"Don't want people asking why you have some guy cooking for you?" Ryosuke chuckles.

"Was talking about the other photos."

Ryosuke chokes on air, pushing out the idea of having his naked photos proudly on display.

As Ryosuke finishes plating everything and is setting up the table, it’s closer to lunch time but they both didn’t mind. He steals a glance at Yuto, eyes watching him with a slight smirk, chin resting in his hands.

“Why do you look suspicious?” Ryosuke jokes.

“I want to tell you something that you might like.” Yuto replies simply.

Ryosuke studies him, unsure if he was serious or not, but Yuto just grins.

“What is it?”

“Should I tell you?” came an innocent reply.

“Guess who isn’t having breakfast?”

Before Ryosuke could snatch Yuto’s plate away, Yuto yells, protecting his plate.

“Okay I’ll you.” Yuto sticks his tongue out. “So. Remember one of your proposals you sent in recently?”

Ryosuke thinks back, having handed in several papers during their busy time at work. Usually he just gets them back asking him to either revise or scrap them.

“Yeah what about them? Did you get them back?”

Yuto smiles.

“Not only did I get them back, but I got one approved.”

Ryosuke’s eyes widen, not having expected to hear those words any time soon.

“No way, you better not be joking with me Nakajima Yuto.”

“Yes way, Yamada Ryosuke. Congratulations, you'll be the lead developer.”

Ryosuke jumps up with a shout, leaping over to Yuto to hug him, leading to Yuto screaming along with him in joy. Now he's wondering if he's the one dreaming, his childhood aspiration to have one of his game ideas accepted and be made into a full game is finally coming true. He's going to have to work even harder now to develop his game, hoping he gets enough funding to make it how he wishes, already imagining becoming a hit.

“I’ve been waiting to tell you about it until we meet up but then last night...” Yuto blushes. “Last night was a little busy.”

Ryosuke starts babbling about his soon to be game and future ideas for it, unable to wait to begin actually developing it with Yuto listening along and adding suggestions. In their excitement, they forgot about their now cold breakfast, but they didn’t bother reheating it up, too focused on writing down their brainstorming for Ryosuke’s, well also partly Yuto’s, game.

After they finish cleaning (while messing around), Ryosuke realizes his phone is ringing, seeing a couple of missed calls and several messages on discord.

Chinen?

"Hey Chi, what's up?"

"Oh hi Ryo! You're alive and seem happy! How are you this beautiful, fine day?"

Ryosuke frowns, knowing that overly sweet tone, the tone he uses when he's upset at him for something.

"What did I do this time?"

"Hm? What didn't you do? An hour ago?"

Ryosuke looks at the clock, seeing it was about noon an hour ago, not realizing how long he and Yuto were discussing their game, lost in their fantasies.

Then he remembers.

"Shit I forgot I promised we would talk about our dungeon plans together."

"Yep."

"I'll be-" before he could finish the line goes dead.

Ryosuke immediately types an apology to Chinen and Daiki, noticing they've been trying to get his attention for a while, asking if he was free. He explains that he didn't mean to spend the night over Yuto's and will be returning as soon as possible, knowing that the other two were both busy and he was making them wait.

“I need to get back to my apartment.” Ryosuke regrets, rushing to gather his stuff together. “I forgot I had plans with my friends.”

“No worries.” Yuto leans over for a quick kiss. “Thanks for breakfast. And last night.”

“It’s my pleasure… for both.” Ryosuke blushes, remembering the events of last night, hoping they can meet up again soon.

“Text me when you get home!” Yuto calls after him just before Ryosuke leaves, the elder calling back that he will.

He’s humming as he rides the bus back to his place, making sure to let his discord friends know that he was currently on his way back home. All he has to remember to do is simply treat the two of them to a meal when they meet up in person next time and this will be completely forgotten. 

No problems at all.

But that’s only what Ryosuke thought, he thought that nothing would happen after having a lovely morning with Yuto, after a great night with Yuto. It was all well and fun, but as he turned his door handle to his apartment, he almost missed the flash at the corner of his eye, spinning around just in time to see a shadow duck behind a tree.

Fuck.

~~~

“Ryosuke?”

Ryosuke shakes his head, realizing his character lying dead on the screen.

“You’re oddly quiet, Yama, did something happen between you and Yuto last night?” Daiki asks worriedly. “Usually you never shut up about Yuto, especially after being together… And you two were alone for a whole night.”

“Nothing bad happened between us, it was a great night.” Ryosuke quickly clarifies. “That’s not what I’m worried about… Just…” he hesitates, not sure how to put his thoughts into words, not having processed what happened just 15 minutes ago with the unknown person hiding after the flash.

Anxious. If that flash was what he thinks it was, then his face could be known to the media soon. He’s not sure how much information the media might be able to connect about his and Yuto’s relationship, but no matter what, Yuto will be caught up in the midst of it to explain. Just like last time.

"Is it because I interrupted by calling you over?” Chinen pipes up. “You sounded like you were in a good mood earlier, sorry I didn't know you were still with Yuto. I should have expected it.”

“It’s my fault I forgot to tell you guys, but we fell asleep after… chilling.” Ryosuke blushes, glad his face can’t be seen by the other two. “And it wasn’t on my mind when I woke up.”

Ryosuke briefly explains what he saw as he returned home, worried that it was a follower of Yuto or a gossip outlet, not sure what to expect.

“Maybe it wasn't a camera?” Daiki tries, but they all knew it couldn't have been anything else. “Are you going to let Yuto know?”

“Should I?” Ryosuke thinks, maybe it would be a good idea to at least warn Yuto just in case. Seconds later, his phone rings, realizing that he never texted Yuto back like he said as his name lights up. “Speaking of the devil, Yuto’s calling me. Be back soon.”

Ryosuke mutes himself on discord, swallowing as he holds his phone for a few moments before sucking it up and picking it up.

 _“Yama?! Are you home safe? Did something happen to you?”_ Yuto's loud voice rang in his ear.

Ryosuke smiles at Yuto’s concern for him, but he shakes his head, taking a breath before answering.

“Uh yeah I am home but-”

_“Oh thank God I was worried since you haven’t messaged me yet but I was worried over nothing.”_

“Yuto. Someone might have taken a photo of me as I got home.” Ryosuke states before Yuto could fully relax. 

There was a moment of silence before Yuto said anything back.

_“Did you see the face of who took it?”_

Ryosuke winces at Yuto’s change of tone, much sharper.

“No, I didn’t. Sorry I should have chased after them-”

_“No, that would have been dangerous Yama! Damn it, I knew I should have kept you at mine for longer. Now they know where you live.”_

He hears the regret in Yuto’s voice, picturing him running his hand through his hair while pacing back and forth.

“I had to leave at some point, so it’s not your fault.” Ryosuke eased, not wanting Yuto to blame himself. “Maybe we can pass it off as a business meeting again?”

_“I know you had to leave but still… If they noticed you stayed the night with me that might not work this time around, especially if they manage to piece it together. Besides, your outfit didn’t exactly scream business… remind me what you’re wearing?”_

Ryosuke rolls his eyes at Yuto’s comment, looking down at his clothes… that’s not his clothes because he’s still in Yuto’s clothes that he was given yesterday since he didn’t want to wear his sweaty work outfit. He wishes he left wearing a suit or something.

“Maybe I just spilled something and had to borrow your clothes?”

_“... Nice try.”_

They try to think of excuses, realizing each one was futile, leaving them to just hope that it doesn’t get bad on either of their sides.

“Maybe it’s better that they found out now, so we don’t have to hide our relationship from the media.” Ryosuke tries to look on the bright side.

_“I don’t know, Yama… I’m worried how the fans are going to react to you as my boyfriend, make that my first boyfriend they know of.”_

“It’s not like they barged into my house.”

 _“Yeah but there’s no telling if they’ll swarm you and your place. They’re going to want answers, be careful.”_ Yuto warns him. _“For now, let's keep quiet about us. But we might just have to see what happens if news about it goes out to the public.”_

“What are you going to do if they do find out?” Ryosuke’s voice wavers, knowing the last time Yuto kept his distance between them, wondering what’s going to happen to their relationship this time.

There’s a pause before Yuto answers.

_“I’m not sure. I’ll think of something to say. Until then, I’ll talk to you later okay?”_

“Okay.” Ryosuke simply replies. “Love you.”

_“Love you too, bye.”_

Ryosuke sighs as they both hang up, spinning on his chair a few times before putting his headphones back on to debrief the Chibis on their voice call.

“This is going to go great!” Chinen says gleefully as Ryosuke listens in.

“Yeah I hope he’s back soon so we can tell him.” Daiki agrees.

“What idea do you two have in mind this time?” Ryosuke cuts in, curious.

“I was thinking Dai-chan and I could go to your apartment to fend off fangirls for you so you don’t have to worry about them.”

Ryosuke laughs at the idea despite the situation, thanking his friends for the concern but they don’t have to go out of their way for this since he should be able to handle it. He doesn’t tell them that it might cause more trouble if people start questioning his friends as well. Nonetheless, his friends try to help him calm down over online games to take his mind off of the situation, which did some to ease him, but not much.

But the whole day was wasted with Ryosuke constantly refreshing social media and gossip websites about Yuto, praying he doesn’t see anything new each time. Sleep that night didn’t come quickly, but he eventually drifted off.

~~~

When morning does come, there’s several messages on his phone. He opens Yuto’s first, seeing the usual good morning text but his heart sinks as above it there’s a link to a website with the headline:

**_"Yutomania dating rumors with a man?”_ **

He was hoping that it would take some time for the article to be released, but he was naive, knowing how fast gossip spreads. He only skims through the website, and sure enough, there are photos of him in clear daylight leaving Yuto’s apartment, following him as he heads home by bus, up to where he was at his apartment door. For the most part he was paying attention to his phone, but it was clear how happy he was. He had just spent time with his boyfriend after all.

There were questions about who he is and what their relationship is, knowing he arrived late at night and left early afternoon. Some captions pointed out his clothing was different from both times, seeing him leave with clothes that Yuto had worn before or appeared in his YouTube videos. But worst of all, one photo zoomed onto his neck, faint hickeys he didn’t notice from the previous night discoloring his skin, an indication that something was going on.

Not only were there the recent photos, but there were also photos from the last time he was caught with Yuto under the umbrella, retouched and clearer than when they were first released. They were being compared, noting similarities like his hair and height, realizing that they might be closer than just business partners as was previously cleared up.

There’s hundreds of comments on the article, mostly from Yuto’s fans, asking if it’s true, saying that he isn’t that pretty to be dating someone like Yuto, that he isn’t worth it. Some fans recognized him, having seen him work at the same company as Yuto or, to his horror, from the convenience store. Because of that, his last name was thrown in, considering he has to wear a name tag for work at the store. A bit of hope was raised as a couple of the replies suggested that if they work at the same company then it must be for business. But there were of course counters, saying that he was known to be closer to Yuto than the rest of the company members.

He texts Yuto back, but there wasn’t much time to think about the situation, having to leave for work. He quickly applies makeup to his neck, making sure to hide anything that resembles a mark, preparing to see fans outside the company who will surely recognize him from the article.

Arriving at the company, he shivers with the daggers on him, more so than usual, feeling people take his photo.

Only Yuto can take his photo.

“Are you dating Yutti?” a girl steps in front of him. “Is he as romantic as he is in his videos? What's he like?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ryosuke sidesteps, avoiding answering any of the questions thrown at him, just trying to get inside the building.

But even there it wasn't safe.

“Yamada! At Yuto’s place again?” a coworker slaps him on the back.

“Haha yeah, just finishing up work there.” he forces out a laugh.

But they already suspected him and Yuto had a more than just workers relationship, and now it was obvious that they had something together with these multiple house visits.

Where is Yuto? It’s almost time for the day to begin, but their boss was nowhere to be seen, everyone focused on Ryosuke instead, making him shift in his seat as people questioned him.

Did something happen to him? Is he not going to show up because of this?

Ryosuke sends a text to him, hoping he gets a response.

Just as he sends it, Yuto enters the room, clapping his hands and asking why everyone was standing around doing nothing. While everyone scrambles to get to their desks, Yuto pauses as his eyes fall on him before heading to his own desk.

His phone goes off moments after, glancing at it under his desk.

_Idiot Bunny💙: Just got caught up by some fans on my way to work… kept asking about you but I didn’t reveal anything… Did anything happen to you? Did you get hurt?? 😨_

_Strawberry Chef❤️: Nothing happened to me… I was scared something happened to you 😣_

_Idiot Bunny💙: Don’t worry about me, I’m more concerned about you_

_Still not sure what to do with all this sorry…_

_Strawberry Chef❤️: Let’s not think about it now?_

_Idiot Bunny💙: Fine… let me know if you need help on your work 😘_

_Strawberry Chef❤️: Thanks 💕_

But Ryosuke feels awkward interacting with Yuto in front of everyone, only interacting with him to get some materials to further his game proposal. He was ecstatic when he found out about it yesterday, but now his mind was far from it.

In the end, they didn’t talk much, Ryosuke quickly leaving when their time was up with a nod as he rushed out with the crowd, keeping his head low to blend in so fans don’t see him to question him further.

It only works to an extent, fans catching him and demanding answers from him. He heard that some of them were sad that Yuto is taken and that they shouldn’t be together, but he also heard a few fans trying to calm the angry ones down, saying that they should be happy for Yuto and to leave them alone.

Ryosuke tried to ignore all the comments thrown at him both in person and indirect comments on social media, but the negative ones got to him over the next few days. There was even a letter in his mail, telling him he should stay away from Yuto, which he bitterly laughed at. He ended up skipping work on Thursday, too exhausted from having to deal with more people than usual, not sure how Yuto does it when fans stop him in the streets to talk to him or for a photo. Thankfully Yuto understands, letting him take the day off.

Friday was wild at the convenience store though, fans entering the store to confirm that it was him working at the cashier. It got so bad that he was let out early because fans were crowding and impeding business.

He didn’t want to tell Yuto about it yet, but there were already videos on social media about it when he got home. While watching a few, not noticing how out of hand things got, he gets a message from Yuto asking him if he’s okay. He tries to reassure him that he’s fine and that he didn’t get hurt, brushing off the small objects that were thrown at him.

But later that night he gets another message from Yuto.

_Idiot Bunny💙: Are you home right now?_

_Strawberry Chef❤️: Yes? Why?_

_Idiot Bunny💙: Can I come over?_

_Strawberry Chef❤️: Sure?_

_Idiot Bunny💙: Be there in 30_

Ryosuke tries to distract himself but he can’t focus on anything, curious in why Yuto was coming over on such a short notice and at night. He tries to convince himself that Yuto was going to comfort him since the week has been hellish. Except he hid some of what fans did so Yuto doesn't even know everything.

He hears the knock on his door and he opens it to reveal Yuto, out of breath. Ryosuke lets him in, the air feeling heavy as they both refrain from speaking, the two of them sitting on the couch, fiddling their fingers. Ryosuke swallows as he takes a look at Yuto, facing away from him, clearly thinking and much more serious than he usually is. He definitely hasn’t been getting enough sleep, dark bags showing through a lousy layer of rushed makeup.

“I could make some tea-” Ryosuke begins.

"I think we should break up."

Ryosuke's heart dropped at Yuto's stern voice, his hard eyes glaring into him. Silence filled the room for ages as Ryosuke struggled to process what Yuto said.

Break up? 

After all the months it took for Ryosuke to realize that he was in love with Yuto, then the time it took for them to actually get together when he finally accepted it, it was all just going to end just like that after such a short amount of time? They’ve only been dating for less than a month and while they haven’t been able to spend much time together during those weeks, he’s had happy moments.

"What do you mean?" he chokes out, his throat like sandpaper.

"You should know what that means." Yuto sighs, standing up and turning towards the door.

"You can't just come along to say that then not explain." Ryosuke reacts without thinking, grabbing onto Yuto’s arm with shaking hands, legs nearly giving out under him.

He couldn’t lose Yuto now.

"What is there to explain?” Yuto frowned, but he sat back down when Ryosuke wouldn’t let him go. “People followed you home because of me and I know they’ve been harassing you. You’d be safer if we just ended things now before they get worse.”

“It’s really not that bad-”

“I see the posts on social media, I’m not dumb, Yamada.” Yuto interrupts. “This has happened before.” His last girlfriend got sick of the harassment and "scandal", ending their relationship just days after it got out to the media. "I can fix this easily by saying that we have no relationship and then people will leave you alone. But it would mean we can't meet each other for a while because they already know what you look like so I think it's better to break it off now."

Ryosuke could only blink as Yuto spoke on, his words going right through one ear, spinning around for a bit then out the other ear. But all he could take in was that Yuto wanted to break up since it would be "better" for him.

"You can't decide that for me." he shakes his head, trying to think of how he can convince Yuto to not break up with him.

“I can, and I’m deciding for the both of us that this is easier than going through this again.” Yuto glares at him.

“And what if there’s a better way to handle this without breaking up?” Ryosuke retorts, trying to stand his ground, ignoring the tears threatening his eyes. “Think this through, Yuto.”

“I _am_ thinking this through, Yamada.” Yuto exclaims, making Ryosuke flinch. “And I don’t think there is a way. What, do you have one or not?” he raises an eyebrow.

He has to think of _something_.

“Well no, but there has to be-”

“See? So why don’t we just break up now. Like I said, it’ll be better for you anyways. You can go ahead and find someone else and-”

Ryosuke stands up, grabbing Yuto by his collar, pulling him in and pressing their lips together, muffling whatever Yuto was saying. Yuto’s eyes widened, making an attempt to pull away but Ryosuke already had a firm hold on his head, keeping him against him. After a few moments, Yuto relaxed into the kiss and Ryosuke let him go, Yuto's mouth opening and closing like a fish.

“If I had known that was that effective, I really should have kissed you to shut you up a long time ago.” Ryosuke murmurs, starting to get his bearings back. “You’re talking too much and not letting me have my own say, Yuto. I’m trying to tell you I want to be with you, not anyone else.”

Yuto doesn’t react, only looking down as Ryosuke sits back down, the two back in silence.

“Why?” Yuto finally asks quietly after ages. “Why would you go to such lengths even after you experienced how hard it is to date me?”

“Didn’t I promise you already when we first got together?” Ryosuke takes Yuto’s hand, squeezing them. “I’m willing to deal with anyone if it means I can be with you. I'm not going to give up on you.”

“What’s the point? You’re so beautiful you could have anyone you want.” Yuto motions to him. “I’m undeserving.”

“Haven’t you read people’s comments? _You’re_ the one who is too beautiful for this world and literally has thousands of people willing to date you.” Ryosuke points out.

Yuto sighs, but lets his head fall onto Ryosuke’s shoulder, arms wrapping tightly around him. Ryosuke could only respond by pulling him in as close as he physically could, making it harder to breathe but he didn’t care about that for now.

As long as he has Yuto in his arms, he’ll stay like this for as long as he can.

“I don’t want to leave you.” Yuto mumbles into him.

“I don’t either.” Ryosuke gently plays with his hair at his nape, hoping that he's comforting him.

It seemed to be working, Yuto relaxing his arms eventually as they embraced each other. He doesn’t know how long passes, but Yuto releases him, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

“So. Just to be clear." Yuto begins slowly. "We’re still together, right? I mean I don’t actually want to break up with you and I was totally hoping you would slap some sense into me since I was just saying I want to so that-”

“Yeah. We’re still together.” Ryosuke almost laughs at the change in Yuto, back to how he usually is, the taller giving him the biggest puppy eyes as words tumble out of his mouth and the sigh of relief after.

Ryosuke couldn’t be more relieved as well, his heart still racing from the stress. He gets up to make tea for the both of them, knowing that they both need some comfort after all that has been happening all week and tonight.

"I'm happy you decided to join and stay at Alpha Games."

As Ryosuke gave him his cup of tea, that caught him off guard, not expecting to be mentioned like that.

"Why?"

"You're so talented and capable of anything." Yuto replied, sipping his tea, wincing at the scorching liquid. “You deserve to be section leader, not me. That’s why I pushed for you to be the lead developer for your game."

"I'm not as skilled as you in guiding people.” Ryosuke protests, feeling like he wouldn’t be a good enough leader. “You're a good leader though, everyone loves you and you push everyone in the right direction."

"Even though I bullied you in the beginning?” Yuto scoffed. “To be honest I hated working there before you came in. Hated how people saw me as a rich kid who made it there because I’m famous. Hated that people only seem to like me because I could get them connections.”

Ryosuke couldn’t say anything back to that, having been one of those people who believed that everything was handed to Yuto on a silver platter and that there's nothing good about him.

“You made it there because of your talent, not just being a rich kid.” Ryosuke frowns, knowing better now. “You knew more about everything when I just started and I was forced to learn. It was tough, but I learned so much in that month, and it took me a while to notice the changes in my work that came up because of you.”

“I thought it would be fun to see you break, but you never did." Yuto admits. "I felt so powerful and better but you never fell. I hated you that month for not giving up.”

“I ended up working harder than I ever had in my life to make you stop looking down on me and see that I was capable. It was all because of you that I made it here.” Ryosuke says.

All because I was in love and needed you to notice me.

“And that made you hate me. You threw me off guard by hating me so openly but it made things interesting. But then I realized I didn’t like it, so I tried so hard to make you like me afterwards. Didn’t think I would fall in love while trying."

“Trust me, I didn’t think I would ever fall in love either.” Ryosuke chuckles slightly, remembering how he was so adamant about wanting nothing to do with Yuto despite everything Chinen and Daiki told him. “I was stubborn but I’ve accepted it and here we are now.”

“Here we are now.” Yuto echos. "Why did Jun-san have to send you? Usually we just have nerdy people who didn't think about how hard it is to actually fully develop a game or just care about making games with me and I thought you would be one of them. But when I first laid my eyes on you, I knew you were unlike the others. You screamed confidence. You screamed strength. You…” he pauses, stealing a glance at him. “You were so pretty it hurt me. So when I found it it was you I was taken aback."

“You thought that the first time you saw me?” Ryosuke blinked. “How? When?”

He needed to know.

"A few weeks before we actually met?” Yuto thinks. “I happened to see you one day at the convenience store while picking up a few things and you looked so bright, smiling at everyone and being so friendly. I never saw you working before and then I didn’t see you again until one day I came at a different time than usual."

“It must have been a day when I was covering for someone.”

They both laugh, thinking how they always seem to meet when they least expect it.

“I was afraid to chat with you because I thought I would freeze up or act weird so I went in at different times when you weren't working.”

“What? You were afraid to talk to me?” Ryosuke was surprised that out of all the people Yuto would be afraid to talk to, it was him, considering how good he is at talking to fans.

“Yeah, I wanted to seem cool and chill for you." Yuto goofily smiles. "Then the day came when I was recruiting people for Alpha Games and I remember Jun-san mentioning how there’s a worker that likes games, telling me to meet that person, but when I came in that person wasn’t there.”

The day he overslept because he spent the night watching video games.

“Good first impressions, huh?” Ryosuke shrugs, remembering how at the ramen shop he met Yuto at, he tried ignoring him. "I really did not want to talk to you at all."

“It was obvious that you didn’t like talking to me, but it made me so interested in you since you’re so kind to everyone and good at talking to people. I'm telling you, you're such a good leader.” he presses.

“I’m not, I’m just a follower that people don’t like much.” Ryosuke humbly plays with his sleeves, feeling embarrassed at the compliment.

"What are you talking about? Now that I think about it, you're also good at talking to people online and you're already a caring leader who loves his friends and would do anything for them. Chinen and Daiki are lucky to know you." Yuto hums, a hand on his chin.

Ryosuke tilts his head, not sure how he came to that conclusion. He did tell him he met those two over the internet, which he supposes makes him good at talking online, but Yuto even remembers his friends’ names?

"You've only met them once, right? Maybe we should hang out more at that arcade."

There was that one time that he was hanging out with his friends and coincidentally met up with Yuto and Yuya. But that was the only time he remembers having them meet.

Yuto gives him a sheepish look.

"Yeah, we should go back there one day… but you do have one thing wrong.” Yuto swallows. “I've met them several times. We talk a looot." he stretches, a small smile on his face.

"Really? Without me?" Ryosuke purses his lips, wondering if the two said or did anything weird to Yuto, knowing that those two would cause chaos. That must be how those two knew that they had mutual feelings for each other, cursing them for not telling him that Yuto liked him.

“Nah. All of us. Together. Having fun. With others too.” Yuto says slowly.

Others being Yuya?

“Are you mixing up your dreams or something?” Ryosuke nudges him with a laugh. “There hasn’t been another time since-”

“Kurusuke, right?”

Ryosuke freezes, eyes widening, hearing his online alias come into the conversation. He’s never mentioned that name to Yuto before, fearing that he would think that he’s weird.

"What? No? I mean okay yes? How did you find out?" he stammers.

"It took me awhile." Yuto admits, relieved. “You took the English word "cool" to get “Kuru” and added part of your given name, “Suke”, right?”

“Y-yeah.” he’s always felt a little dumb for making that his name, especially since he’s bad at English. “I’m going to kick Chinen and Daiki for giving you hints.” he mutters.

But all his friends did it too. Even Yuya.

"I love your friendship with the Chibi squad, it’s cute.” Yuto grins. "They totally see you as their leader and love you.”

“They even told you about our squad name? What else do you know about me that you found out from them?” Ryosuke already planning to confront his friends later.

“I know that you’re a real great friend online." Yuto hums. "But that’s not from them, it’s from experience with all the conversations we’ve had online."

“Are you saying that we were friends through the comment section of your YouTube?” Ryosuke jokes, smacking himself for leaving so many comments, acting like a total fanboy under a different name. He didn't expect Yuto would know it's him when he would reply to some of his comments. "I guess that could be considered talking."

"Hm?” Yuto cocks his head to the side. “Oh yeah those. Thanks for all of the YouTube comments you always leave on my videos. I’ve looked for your comments sometimes. I appreciate them. But that's not what I was referring to when I said we talk online."

"Huh?" Ryosuke frowns. "How else have we talked?"

Yuto takes a deep breath, focusing on him with a smirk.

“You go by Kurusuke, right? Can you think of another name that I might use? Try taking part of my given name."

"To?" Ryosuke frowns, confused.

Yuto laughs, clearly amused by this.

"The _other_ part of my given name."

"Oh. Yu." he laughs a little, thinking of how he used the second part of his name for Kurusuke.

"What do I make sometimes on YouTube?"

"Bad cakes?" he suggests, no clue what Yuto was talking about.

Yuto giggles again at that one, having fun.

"Okay true, but what English word do I like to play? ‘Yu’ plus what?"

Ryosuke tries to think, his English not the best, running through what Yuto does on YouTube. Yuto video blogs his life, does some traveling and tours, talks about cameras for hours, plays the drums, does reviews, some cooking here and there. What English word can go with ‘Yu’ that he plays and he has talked to? He could only think of the drums, but he doesn’t know a Yudrum.

_“Why does everyone use part of their name and an English word for their characters?” Inoo wondered aloud._

Yu… Yu…

_“Everyone?” Ryosuke repeats, realizing that all his friends does it too. “I wonder if Yujikku does the same? But I don't know his real name and I'm bad at English..."_

Drums play...

Oh my God.

"Music." Ryosuke breathed out, the gears starting to turn. "'Yu' make music."

Yuto's face softens, pleased with his answer.

"Random question. Have you heard of parallel universes?"

The connections all make sense and the light bulb in his head flashes, eyes widening as he realizes. Someone else said that line to him recently, or more so, typed it.

At least, who he thought was someone else.

"Yujikku?" the name comes out in a whisper.

Yuto snaps his fingers.

“Bingo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 100k words!! How did this fic get this long?! 😵
> 
> Is this chapter a rollercoaster of a mess yes it is sorry about that I didn't want to leave the chapter off on a stressful note... Thought I would shake things up in their relationship again just for a little bit of pain/struggle 😅 I swear they'll be a happy couple
> 
> But here's what everyone has been waiting for! Ryosuke finally realizes who Yujikku is?! I played with so many ways to have him find out and in the end this happened... I bet Ryosuke feels dumb now and I'm amused with Yuto dropping hints until he gets it.
> 
> Thank you for keeping up as we're on the last couple of chapters 💕


	21. Chapter 21

_Yujikku: Isn’t it kinda like how we have a different online identity? Like “Yujikku” is both somewhat different and similar than… me behind a computer_

He met Yujikku by chance online, having been sleep deprived because of his obsession with gaming, stuck in a dungeon where Yujikku just happened to see him recruiting. He knew nothing about him, so when he was sent a friend request, he never expected to integrate him into his friend group, playing together multiple times a week, loving every moment together as he made him laugh and enjoy playing games more than he usually does. Little by little he learned more about him, getting closer as friends, enjoying his playful and lively personality.

Maybe he did have a few fleeting thoughts about what a long distance relationship with him would be like, if it weren’t for Nakajima Yuto, who changed his life the very next day. He thought he knew everything about him, how cocky he was with his big ego, hating every moment together as he scowled and hated every day of work. But now, after time has passed, he realized that a part of him never truly hated Yuto, jealousy clouding his vision.

The two personalities were only different from each other due to what Ryosuke focused on, yet there were always similarities between them that he was aware of, yet never connected the dots.

“ _What_ ?” Ryosuke blinks a few times. “You mean… _all_ this time? This _w_ _hole_ time?” he splutters, his mind racing through everything he’s ever said to Yujikku and Yuto over the months that he’s known them. “You? And Yujikku? The SAME guy?”

How many embarrassing things has he told Yujikku about Yuto? With the way he complained about Yuto at least once a week, he feels like just a whiny brat in front of the guy himself. Then there’s how he began to simp over Yuto, asking Yujikku for dating advice that he followed, covering his heated face with his hands.

How did he not know this?

“Yeah. Me. Yujikku.” Yuto chuckles nervously, positioning his arms into an archer pose like Yujikku’s character, aiming at Ryosuke. “Surprised?”

Surprised might be an understatement.

“How? How do I… how do I know you’re not lying?” Ryosuke says in disbelief, despite everything fitting perfectly into place.

Yuto picks up his phone, pointing at him briefly before typing something. Ryosuke’s phone goes off just as Yuto looks back at him, head motioning towards his phone. Ryosuke turns it on, seeing a discord message from Yujikku.

It was a photo of himself. In this exact moment. He closes his own mouth, realizing his jaw was dropped, eyes bulging out. A message appears below as he takes in the image of himself sent from his internet friend, hearing a voice in his head as he reads it over, and over.

_Yujikku: You’ve impressed me again, Yamada Ryosuke. I knew you would be breathtaking in real life_

“Believe me now, Yamada Ryosuke?” Yuto pokes his cheek, nearly falling over.

The same voice in his head.

Ryosuke switches his gaze between his phone and Yuto in front of him, speechless. There he was on his phone screen, his real name, the same phrase he’s heard from both of them. He thinks of Yujikku's voice and how it's always sounded similar but too deep, so he had brushed it off, slapping himself as he remembers voices changers exist.

"When-When did you realize?" he chokes out, unable to believe Yuto already knew and didn’t tell him.

Yuto hums for a moment, collecting his words.

"When you told me stories about your life, I thought it was funny how it oddly matched up to what I was doing, like when you started your new job at a gaming company and hated your boss.” Yuto nods. “As we got closer, I realized you had a similar taste to what Kurusuke was recommending, like music and movie wise, but I thought it was all just coincidences until…” he pauses. “The night we got together officially and you told me what happened that day… that's when I thought... ‘This can't be anyone else but me’."

Ryosuke remembers the paragraph of text he blurted out to Yujikku, well Yuto, about when they finally confessed to each other, sealing their relationship, and how over the moon he was. How cheesy he was when he gushed over how beautiful Yuto is, like a young maiden in love.

“I bet you were laughing at me this whole time. I’m so dumb.” he recalls Inoo’s words, how he laughed at how Ryosuke didn’t know Yujikku’s real name, despite literally dating the guy.

Dating Yujikku is a phrase he’s going to have to work on getting used to, still struggling to accept that he was dating Yuto.

“It was adorable.” his eyes crinkling. “I felt how much you loved me through the screen which is nice since you don’t like to show it in person… not that we can really.”

“S-shut up.” Ryosuke pouts, facing away, annoyed how much Yuto was enjoying his cluelessness. “I’m the biggest clown.”

He’s already thinking about a way to get back at him and his friends for not telling him and letting him act stupid in front of all of them. Like maybe if he can get Chinen to pay for one of his meals for once. Or maybe not. He can only think of one other bigger clown than him and it’s the person who wrote this fan-

"Are you disappointed?" Yuto blurts out.

"What are you talking about?" he puzzles, turning to see Yuto’s head down. “Disappointed with what?”

“That I’m Yujikku.” Yuto mumbles softly, fiddling with his thumbs. “I thought you would hate me for keeping it a secret and hiding my identity. Plus you were also not talking about the details of your gaming to me in person so I thought you wanted to keep it a secret too.”

“Is that why you never mentioned anything?”

Yuto nods.

“I didn’t know if I should have.” he explains. “So whenever you brought up anything that related us together, I got scared and tried to change the subject so you wouldn’t be disappointed.”

“Wait, why would I be disappointed in the first place?” he backtracks.

“You always like talking to Yujikku, I get that.” Yuto tilts his head. “I figured you would be expecting someone interesting and… well, better behind his screen. Not someone like me.”

Ryosuke sighs, but crawls over to Yuto, patting his head and threading his hand through his hair like the hundreds of times he's done it to him. The sad yet utterly adorable look he gives him tugs at his heart in multiple directions.

“You have it backwards.” Ryosuke begins softly, leaning forward and pressing their foreheads together. “I like talking to Yuto, the person behind Yujikku, you’re the best person I could ask for to be my friend, my boyfriend. I’m not disappointed, just more reason that I’m in love.”

"But…" Yuto falters, leaning into the touch. "Am I worthy of your love?"

"Yuto you're my boyfriend of course you’re-."

"But does that make me... good? With how annoying I am like others say?" Yuto worried, hurt in his eyes. "Yama-chan…"

Ryosuke purses his lips, realizing he should have said something else, trying to think of something that Yuto wants, no, _needs_ to hear. But as he peers into Yuto’s blinking eyes, he just decides to be completely honest.

"I don't know if you want to hear it from me but I think you're good enough." Ryosuke says gently, rubbing his back. "You might be a little annoying, but I like it in a good way and I still love you. You’re the most caring person I know and I wouldn’t be who I am now if it weren’t for you. You're not a disappointment to me.”

“But Yama...”

Ryosuke glares at him, ready to challenge him, but immediately softens at Yuto’s worn out face, eyes unfocused on something in the distance. He was sleep deprived all right, but there was a sense of vulnerability that he can count on one hand the amount of times he might have seen this, used to the overconfidence and joy he radiates.

But this is the first time he’s sure of it.

“Yuto? I’m here to listen.”

Yuto didn’t respond for at least a full minute.

“Hey, Yama-chan.” Yuto starts carefully. “Why did you hate me before we met in the first place?”

Starting from the beginning.

“I used to be a huge fan of your channel years back.” he admits.

“I think I remember reading a comment that said that.” Yuto nods along, Ryosuke waving him off.

“Well, I fell out of it because I hated your fans and it turned into hating you because I thought you were just some guy with a huge ass ego feeding off your effortless popularity with girls.” he says bluntly, thinking it's better at this point to be honest with his feelings.

“That… makes sense. I knew you hated them.” Yuto agrees. “My fans can be a little too much, and you’ve experienced it first hand. So sorry about that.” he bows his head near the floor.

Ryosuke hears genuine disappointment and regret, tugging at him.

“It’s not your fault.” he quickly reassures, pulling Yuto back up. “I was just jealous that you had this fanbase, even though they were toxic and it just made me hate every little thing that you did. But it was never you that I hated."

“I just wish that I was able to do something about it.”

“Yuto, we didn’t even know each other years back, you didn’t even live here, it’s completely not your fault.” he adds.

Yuto sighs with relief, seeming to accept that.

"I guess I was still in shock that you didn't like me right away when I admired you on first sight." he huffs.

It still baffles Ryosuke that Yuto thought he was shining upon first sight, just how he believed that when he first watched his videos, the spotlight completely on him.

"I’m surprised I didn’t stab you.” Ryosuke bantered, poking Yuto's side, earning a giggle. “You lucky bastard.”

“I would have enjoyed watching you try.” Yuto grabs Ryosuke's wrist, bringing it up to his lips, placing a soft kiss on his skin. “You know I like it when you squirm.”

Ryosuke tries to pull away but Yuto wasn’t letting him go, falling right into his trap.

“Don’t make me do it now, I once again know where all my knives are.” Ryosuke shoots out trying not to stutter, remembering how he jokingly threatened he would stab Yuto if he were to drop his favorite pot the day they cooked together, relieved when Yuto lets him go and scoots back a little.

“Feisty. But I know you wouldn’t do it.” Yuto makes a face and Ryosuke purses his lips.

“You never know.” he replies, shrugging. “I got all confused about you after you started being all nice to me so I thought someone clubbed your head for me or something before I could stab you myself.”

“I had to make it up to you!” Yuto defends himself. “I think I’m a nice person I swear!”

“I know that now.” Ryosuke agreed. “I hated you for dumb reasons, but after talking to you more and working with you personally, I realize how hard working you are, both in your videos and in the office. And that’s just another reason why I love you, Yuto, that’s why a lot of people like you.”

After watching his videos, he can see the amount of effort that Yuto puts into each one, even if it’s him just talking for 30 minutes about cameras. From adding special effects to the lighting, Yuto’s work surprises him each time.

“Really? Usually people just like my face." Yuto hums. "It’s probably why I even got famous in the first place, thus attracting more people, but I want people to genuinely like me. So I try to be someone that can make other people happy.”

"So you do YouTube to make others happy?" Ryosuke questions.

“I started out on Instagram just because I had so many photos that I thought I’d share, and I didn’t expect to gain such a following.” Yuto starts. “People asked me to start making videos since they wanted to see and hear me talk and I figured it would be a good way to get more exposure but…” he falters. “I didn’t expect so many people to… rely on me and my content for their happiness.”

Ryosuke understands what he means, when hundreds of thousands of fans probably use Yuto’s content to help them mentally, cheering them up when they need it most. Like when he needed distractions and used his videos to boost his mood.

“So you don’t actually want to make videos?” he asks. “Why do you still continue?”

"I like creating videos and playing the drums so it's not that bad, plus I can’t just stop now and let down so many people when they look up to me.” he frowns.

“Isn’t that… a lot of pressure?” Ryosuke furrows his brows. “Yet you also work full time at Alpha Games?”

Yuto is just one guy, almost in charge of millions of people following him. It must not be as easy as he expected to be a social influencer, not easy to be popular, while also completing the task of leading people in a company.

“It makes me feel like I'm doing something decent with my life because people seemed to like me, which like you said, feeds my ego... but maybe it is a bit stressful.” Yuto admits. “It’s just something to help me as I strive for my goal to create video games that can also save people like how my videos do, since games saved me after all.”

“I can agree with games saving me, that's my dream too to help others." Ryosuke empathizes. "But why Alpha Games? Aren’t there tons of other gaming companies that you could have reached out to and gotten a job to get games out faster?” he wonders.

Ryosuke knows how much of a big hit the company was in the past, having lost its charm in the past years, but lately it’s been gaining more attention again due to Yuto’s influence. But it’s still difficult to get a good game released when there are other bigger companies that have more workers on teams to produce higher quality games.

“Do you recognize a game called Solstice Code?” Yuto answers with a question.

"Yeah, it's a super old game I remember enjoying when I was like 10... though I don't remember what the plot is.” Ryosuke frowns, remembering little about it.

“Really? Not many people recognize it, let alone played it." Yuto whistles. "It's an obscure game I loved when I was young and it helped me mentally when my family was going through a tough time, saving me.” Yuto reminisces. “And the company that made it is none other than Alpha Games.”

“You want to save the company that saved you.” it clicks in Ryosuke's head.

“Exactly.” Yuto confirms. “And me being a social influencer is actually helpful because I can recommend stuff and people will buy them and hopefully we can grow bigger.” he says excitedly. “But..." his tone drops. "It can get tiring and sometimes my old habits and strictness come out." he chuckles sheepishly.

“Then let me help you.” Ryosuke clasps Yuto’s hands in his. “Let me help you with your games, my games, _our_ games and let me help you with your social media content.” He might not know anything about social media, but he was willing to learn for Yuto’s sake. “I can help you make video and game ideas and be your model for your Instagram. Kill two birds with one stone since I want to make people happy too."

Hearing Yuto’s goals motivated him to work even harder than before to work alongside someone he loves for both his own goals and for Yuto’s goals.

“We’re more similar than we thought, aren’t we? The more people I can make happier the better.” Yuto nods, shaking his hands. “Why are you always willing to go so far for me?”

"Because I love you, you fucking idiot." Ryosuke softly head butts him. "And I can say that you're making my life a hell of a ton better." Ryosuke smiles softly, loving how selfless Yuto is. "Social media, games, in person or whatever, I look forward to waking up just so I can see you."

"Go back to bed." Yuto reaches over to cover his eyes, pushing him down onto the floor.

"No you dork.” Ryosuke flicks Yuto’s forehead. “I'd rather be awake next to you. And I'm willing to do anything to stay with you and make you see how much of a beautiful human you are." Ryosuke stresses, his breath being taken away as Yuto leans over him.

Yuto blinks at him before a smile spreads across his face.

"You're so cute."

"I'm not! God, why am I being so cheesy now I-"

Yuto drops down, arms wrapping around him in a bear hug, squeezing tight. Ryosuke struggles to breathe but pats Yuto's back as best he can while on the floor.

"What did I do to ever deserve you?" Yuto ponders into his hair. “I’m so glad I met you and I love you and your cheesiness.”

“Guess we just gravitate together with our cheesiness, huh?” Ryosuke flips them over so he’s leaning over Yuto. “By the way, I’m still not over me meeting you and Yujikku thinking I was talking to two different people this whole time.”

Yuto giggles.

“I like Yujikku, he’s a funky little guy.” Yuto smiles. “He’s cool, funny, brave... unlike me.”

Ryosuke realizes Yujikku is somewhere in the middle of the two personalities he’s put out there, always ready to take control and scold party members during important raids, but also cheery and easy going when playing casually. A mix of his strict work self and hyperactive social media self.

"Well, I like him too but I'm happy that you're Yuto, who is also cool, funny, and brave." he pauses. “Unlike Kurusuke.”

"I like Kuru!” Yuto pouts. “He's just as cool as the person who made him is."

"Yeah right. Kurusuke, the cool knight who dies all the time." he rolls his eyes.

"Yeah like that time when you were distracted and you kept swimming into the ocean and drowned-"

"Shut up Yujik."

Yuto shakes from laughter under him and Ryosuke sighs in relief as he seems to be doing much better than before.

“Why did you never mention Kurusuke to me?” Yuto questions him now.

“Well, Kurusuke is the dorky version of me.” he shrugs. “Aren’t I more princely in real life?”

“You mean more princess like?” Yuto jokes, earning a flick on his forehead. “Please, you’re just an adorable Chibi in real life, I mean, look at your cheeks!”

“I’m not that Chibi!” Ryosuke swats at Yuto’s hand trying to pinch his cheek. “You Mount Everest wannabe!”

“What did you say munchkin?!”

The two roll around on the floor, calling each other names based on their heights, just as they always did over the internet with their characters, already comfortable with their teasing.

"Speaking of Kurusuke, can I see him?" Yuto sits up suddenly, hardly out of breath from their struggle, eyes glittering.

"See him?" Ryosuke breaths out.

"I've been dying to see your computer." Yuto says gleefully. “I know you’ve sent photos of it before but I want to touch.” he grabs the air.

“You better not leave your fingerprints on them.” Ryosuke stresses, pointing to the sink.

“Oh come on, we’ve shared plenty of our DNA already.” Yuto plants a kiss on his lips, hand low on his hip.

Ryosuke chokes on air, shoving him to wash his hands anyways before quickly leading him up to his room. He pauses before he steps in, hoping it's clean, relieved that you could at least see the floor.

"Whoa is this custom built?" Yuto rushes to his setup, looking at his computer from every angle possible. “I want to take this apart to see-”

"Do not take my baby apart.” Ryosuke leaps over, ushering Yuto to the side before he could start with his ideas. “But yes he’s built by the one and only." he grins triumphantly, pointing at himself as he boots up Jump Party to show him his character.

"Wow this is Kurusuke, huh?" Yuto clicks a few buttons once the game loads, making his character move around, testing out some skills. “Even though I’ve played a knight before this feels different.” he comments, opening up his equipment. “So now that we’re dating can I buy us full matching-”

“Maybe.” Ryosuke interrupts. “Stop making me look stupid in front of everyone by attacking air. But yeah this is my point of view- wait what are you typing?" Ryosuke catches him too late, Yuto quickly hitting the enter button.

“Didn’t let me finish my sentence.” Yuto pouts, Ryosuke reading through the in-game friends’ chat.

_Sabonen: Hey Kurusuke!_

_Where have you been??_

_Daikingu: Hi you’re finallyyyyy online_

_Kurusuke: Hey Chinen and Daiki! It’s me Yu_

_Daikingu: Yu?_

_Sabonen: Yu?_

_YU??!!_

_Daikingu: WAIT YU_

_Sabonen: IS YU WHO I THINK IT IS??_

_Daikingu: YU AS IN??_

_Kurusuke: Who do you think it is?_

_Sabonen: THE NEXT LETTER IS T_

_Daikingu: THE LAST LETTER IS O_

_Kurusuke: SHUT UP AKFSAKL_

_Sabonen: WAIT_

_ARE YOU TWO TOGETHER RIGHT NOW??_

_Daikingu: IF HE’S WITH YOU ON KURUSUKE THEN??_

_Sabonen: DISCORD_

_CALL_

_NOW_

_!!!_

Ryosuke and Yuto exchange a glance, shrugging. Ryosuke opens his discord, unplugging his headset so that Yuto can listen as well, seeing the two Chibis already in a voice channel, joining them.

“Yuto? Is Yuto with you?” The two Chibis speak in unison the moment Ryosuke enters the voice chat, Ryosuke motioning towards Yuto.

“Um. Yes, Yuto is here.” he speaks.

“That sounds like him alright.” Daiki confirms.

“So Yutti, does that mean that Ryosuke knows who you are in game?” Chinen asks excitedly. “Today? Did you find out today?”

“Yeah yeah I know about Yuto and Yujikku now and I hate you both for not telling me sooner.” Ryosuke pouts into the mic. “And yes it was today.”

The two Chibis make loud noises and Ryosuke has to lower the volume as they cheer, feeling a blush as he remembers how clueless he’s been.

“I knew it! Which means I win the bet, Dai-chan.” Chinen announces smugly.

“Damn it, I knew I shouldn’t have bet a treasure chest.” Daiki sighs.

“You two BET on me?” Ryosuke wails and Yuto just laughs beside him, rubbing his back in comfort.

“I thought it would take you a little longer to figure out but as expected Chinen got the exact date right.” Daiki laughs. “How’s our little dumb Kurusuke?” 

“I knew Dai-chan was acting weird that day when we met up with Takaki-kun and his boyfriend!” Ryosuke recalls. “The three of you knew… hell even Yuto knew at some point! Why was I the only one who didn’t know?”

“There were so many hints I don’t even know how you didn’t figure it out.” Chinen mentions. “It was frustrating at first but then it got funny.”

“You two are never going to let this go, are you guys?” Ryosuke questions.

“Nope!” the answer he expected came in unison.

Damn it.

“When did you two first realize?” Yuto jumps in before Ryosuke could try to weasel himself out.

“Chinen and I found out the day we met in person? With Takaki-kun.”

“That early?!” Ryosuke exclaims. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“We tried! But you were still convinced you hated him for no reason at that time!” Daiki counters. “Even though you were obviously so in love with your fluttering heart like when you-”

"W-whatever I-I-we have to go now!" Ryosuke splutters.

"Make sure you use prote-"

Ryosuke leaves the call before the sentence finishes, covering his face as Yuto bursts out laughing. He really is going to have to get them back for making a fool out of him.

“I love your friendship with the Chibis.” Yuto finally says after laughing. “It’s so cute how close you guys are.”

“Are you close like that with Kemono, your guildmates?” he sighs, trying to push the topic onto him.

“Yeah, we tease each other all the time over discord and when we meet in person.” Yuto confirms. “But they’re all old geezers, being in their 30s.”

“Hey, one day you’ll be an old geezer just like them.” Ryosuke laughs.

“Then, I hope that we can spend the rest of our lives growing into old geezers together.” Yuto kisses his cheek.

Yeah whatever- wait what? Did you- do you mean?” Ryosuke feels his neck heat up, Yuto blinking back innocently before his eyes widen.

“W-well not like marriage… for now.” Yuto blushes, shaking his head. “We can have a Jump Party wedding!” he quickly says. “Yujikku and Kurusuke can get married first! And I can buy us our matching outfits for our honeymoon!” he adds, scrambling to open up the shop to look for cute outfits.

“...Maybe.” Ryosuke laughs, his heart racing, not ever expecting for his character to get married in game.

But… he supposes it might be okay with Yuto, messing around together they make Kurusuke try on dozens of outfits. At least, until Yuto exclaimed how cute he looked in the maid outfit.

"I still can't believe you're Kuru." Yuto says when Ryosuke stops him from pulling out his credit card to buy the whole store.

"And I can't believe you're Yujik." Ryosuke agrees.

Yuto embraces him in a hug and Ryosuke's brain short circuits as Yuto rubs his cheek against his.

“I love you Kurusuke.” Yuto chirps. 

“I... I uh.” he stutters.

“C’mon, you say it all the time to Yujikku.” Yuto teases. "Where's your confidence and cheesiness?"

“That’s online it’s different!” Ryosuke protests. “Besides, I didn’t actually mean it to Yujik, it was a friend thing and I didn’t even know it was you this whole damn time!” he exhales.

Okay, you can do this, Ryosuke.

“I love you too, Yuji- to.” he stumbles, combining ‘Yujikku’ and ‘Yuto’.

“Yujito?!” Yuto burst out laughing. “Should I call you Ryosuke- wait that’s actually your name.” he places a hand on his chin as Ryosuke protests his mistake. “Kurusuke… Ryosuke… Kururyo? Ryokuru? Which one sounds better?”

Ryosuke covers his face in embarrassment.

"This is stupid." he mutters, collapsing onto his bed. 

He sighs as he feels arms wrap him from behind, warm, comforting. They fit together perfectly, like two characters made for each other, two comrades teaming up and fighting together every step of the way. Ryosuke couldn't ask for anyone else to be his partner in crime.

“Can I stay the night?” Yuto requests, hugging him tighter.

“Please.” Ryosuke mumbles, grateful to have Yuto by his side.

“Oh, I thought of an idea for the whole dating situation on social media? I don’t know what it’s going to do but I’m curious about trying.” Yuto, releasing him from his hug.

Ryosuke raises his eyebrow as Yuto takes his phone out, shifting closer to him, raising it up to show the camera in selfie mode.

“We’re taking a photo together?” Ryosuke lightly hits him, but he realizes they’ve never taken a photo together before.

“Yeah. Show the world you’re mine and I'm yours.” Yuto grins.

It makes Ryosuke feel giddy, letting everyone know that the rumors were true all along, that Yuto was his, finally his. He wonders if this is a good idea, but he figures they might as well at this point. As they get into position, Ryosuke is caught off guard as Yuto suddenly turns to kiss him but he instantly relaxes, kissing him back.

When Yuto pulls away, they look at the photo and Ryosuke couldn’t help but smile at it, a tender kiss shared upon them. It was his favorite photo of him, of Yuto, reminding himself to print it out and frame it later.

Ryosuke watches Yuto type a caption onto his Instagram.

“Yamada Ryosuke is my boyfriend and if anyone has a problem with how I love him, you’ll regret it ❤️”


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, posting two chapters at the same time? Hehe.
> 
> Anyways, big warning for explicit sexual content~

The photo Yuto posted of them on Instagram became the main topic of what everyone was talking about for a couple of weeks unsurprisingly. News articles talking about Yuto, articles about him spread like wildfire across the internet.

Yuto somehow convinced him to appear in a YouTube video with him on his channel, making a luscious chocolate cake together. Yuto wanted to make his favorite, a strawberry shortcake, but Ryosuke pushed the idea off, reminded of the last time they ate a strawberry shortcake together. It was nervewracking, trying to act normally in front of the camera, but Yuto helped make him feel more natural, acting dumb in the kitchen, forcing Ryosuke to be the tsukkomi, scolding him as he would have normally... And making sure he doesn't actually burn down the kitchen trying to melt the chocolate.

His boyfriend is always good at making him relax in front of the camera.

After that video was released, fans seemed to be relieved and liked him, thousands of comments under the video saying that they were cute together and that “Yutoyama” were their new OTP. There were still online battles but mostly tons of support from fans and non fans alike, saying they were happy for them.

Ryosuke took the liberty of personally replying to both sides, defending Yuto and himself and telling haters to back off while also thanking the supporters. He noticed that the Chibis have also been replying to people, grateful that they were also standing up for him and Yuto, after having to refuse their offer to head to his place as his bodyguards again. From that, he’s also gained more followers on his own social media, not sure how he feels about that, but they’ve been nice to him, telling him they liked his apps he’s made and it relieves him.

He even met up with Keito, the two laughing over Ryosuke’s little crush on him, which he isn’t even sure existed in the first place, or if he was always more interested in how close he was to Yuto. He wrestled out little bits of new information about Yuto, wanting to surprise him, deciding on buying something related to his bunny motif. But he mostly anticipated that Keito agreed to hook the two up together, inviting him to their instrument practices and English classes.

In person, Ryosuke still feels awkward, not sure how to react to Yuto’s fans, but most of them were nicer than he expected to him, only a small fraction trying to cause trouble. He wonders what came over them, but maybe it has to do with the way Yuto throws his arm around him protectively, insisting that he picks him up for work everyday.

Ryosuke still cringes whenever Yuto shows him public affection, so used to having to hide from everyone, despite how Yuto is always so touchy in general. As he hears whistles from his coworkers and fans whenever the two are together alone, he tries to drag Yuto away from prying eyes.

One day he’ll confidently drag Yuto around the city while holding hands, but for now he’s still embarrassed that he’s dating Nakajima Yuto, preferring to keep him just for himself privately.

But one day, when he arrives at work, he immediately notices Yuto’s sly smirk as he enters the office. There’s something in the air, Ryosuke shivering as he wonders if Yuto changed something or has something planned.

They usually greet each other with a quick peck of lips, which Ryosuke had yelped at first, but Yuto’s arms hold him close for a longer kiss today, indulging in each second, tasting like sweet strawberries, before a blush creeps across his face. As Ryosuke pulls away, Yuto’s hands linger on his hips, rubbing small circles as they chat for a minute, noticing he was wearing a sharp cologne that he loved.

“And what are you doing? Is there some kind of occasion today that I’m missing?” Ryosuke raises an eyebrow at the extra public display of affection.

Normally he would be okay with it if they were in private because it’s Yuto but they’re at work for heaven’s sake. As much as he also wants Yuto, they're supposed to keep some kind of professionalism here as anyone could see them, even if they know they're together.

“I just miss my cute boyfriend, is that wrong?” Yuto pouts playfully, nuzzling his face into his hair.

He blushes, knowing Yuto isn’t innocent, trying to pry himself away, but Yuto’s hold is too strong.

“Yuto, people are going to see us.” he whispers.

“So what?” Yuto purrs, kissing his hair.

They wrestle with each other, hearing the door open as others start to arrive, not daring to interrupt them and it all makes Ryosuke’s face redder. When Yuto finally lets Ryosuke break free, there’s a smirk on his face as he turns to head to his desk, leaving Ryosuke flustered and feeling like a mess... and it’s still morning.

His boss is definitely planning something.

Throughout the work day, he feels eyes on him, watching his every movement, giving him shivers. When he would turn and search for those eyes, he always found Yuto's on him, not even trying to hide him blatantly staring at him. Those eyes are familiar, remembering seeing them before at Yuto's apartment, when they were alone and had each other all to themselves. He shakes his head, trying to convince himself that he’s just imagining it.

When their lunch break arrives and they’re sitting in the break room, Yuto leans down to kiss his neck, hands resting on his thighs, squeezing them and Ryosuke isn’t sure if he’s imagining it anymore. He tries to redirect the kiss to his lips, but Yuto keeps his head tilted to continue kissing his neck, kissing exactly where he’s sensitive.

“Yuto, isn’t this…” he flushes, praying no one walks into the room. “Too much?”

With all the looks from Yuto during the past few hours, he can’t help but feel it affecting him, his thoughts running miles. Now with Yuto’s soft lips, breath and hands on him, it’s driving him crazy with want, with need, his scent growing more intoxicating by the second.

Yuto hums, leaning in close to his ear for a low whisper.

“I haven’t forgotten the time you tried to touch me publicly that night.”

Ryosuke whines a little as he remembers his confused state that one night during the section dinner when Ryosuke desperately wanted Yuto, how he was dragged to the bathroom and given a hand job, knowing anyone could walk in and hear them.

“Are you saying you…?” Ryosuke gulps, feeling Yuto drum his fingers, oh those fingers, on his thigh.

But Yuto only pulls away, sitting across from him, cheerfully opening his bento that Ryosuke made for him, talking as if nothing just happened. It just made Ryosuke’s head spin, wanting nothing more than Yuto to be touching him again, needing those lips back on him. He tries not to focus on the way Yuto's mouth closes around his chopsticks, tongue licking his lips.

He’s doing this on purpose.

Yuto heads back first without him, but not without a wink and Ryosuke is left flustered again, trying to swallow down his food. But damn it does he want to swallow-

He shakes his head as someone walks in, forgetting that they were in public this whole time, unsure if anyone saw them, too lost in his head. He curses as he quickly rushes to the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face, willing his body to cool down, unable to imagine the embarrassment of being caught turned on during work.

Back at the office, he makes eye contact with Yuto, a knowing look on his face and Ryosuke furrows his brows. He just needs to focus for a few more hours before he can face Yuto again privately.

Easier said than done.

Ryosuke is mesmerized by Yuto, swearing he’s wearing a smaller, tighter suit than usual, enhancing his muscles through the fabric. His tie is looser than normal, an extra button undone on his shirt. He imagines loosening it further, removing his clothes to feel his skin pressed against his, heating up too fast. He finds himself fixed on the way Yuto’s long fingers move across his keyboard, how they expertly pressed each key effortlessly, wishing they were on him, inside him, just anywhere near him, touching all his right spots.

God he wants him so badly.

"Yamada."

There's a hand waving in front of him and he snaps out of his thoughts.

"Sorry sir, do you need something?" he almost chokes on his words as Yuto places a hand on his shoulder, squeezing.

Can he be any more obvious that Yuto is affecting him?

"Did you finish what I told you to?" his words firm.

"Not yet. I'll get it done soon." he flusters, gathering his papers scattered on his desk, having forgotten he's here to work not daydream about-

A bundle of folded papers forces his chin up to look at Yuto, freezing in place as he’s met with that annoying smug face that he wants to kiss right off.

"You're distracted aren't you? I hope you can finish on time." Yuto murmurs, slowly running his hand through his hair and Ryosuke couldn't fight back. "But if you don't, you can always stay behind and I can… help you."

Ryosuke raises an eyebrow at Yuto's provoking tone, but before he could ask what he means, even though he might already know, Yuto was already walking away. He doesn’t even try to fix his hair, too distracted with his thoughts, hoping Yuto's hands will be in his hair again later.

Then finally. Finally, after finishing only one assignment and having too tight pants on during the whole day, everyone starts heading out when the clock clicks with Yuto standing near the door, waving people off. Ryosuke ignores the look of everyone glancing at him as he remains still at his desk, clearly glaring at Yuto, foot tapping as someone stops to talk to Yuto. But he can tell that Yuto is impatient too, trying to end the conversation, and it makes him feel a little better.

As soon as the last person leaves and Yuto is locking the door, Ryosuke rushes over, only to be shoved against the wall hard with his wrists pinned above him, lips capturing his own. Ryosuke’s surprised at first, but he lets it happen, melting into the kiss and appreciating that Yuto finally decided to give his lips attention.

“Yuto, can we leave now?” Ryosuke gasps, out of breath, needing more of Yuto.

“Why wait? I was thinking we could try something with just the two of us here.” Yuto grins against his lips.

Ryosuke frowns as Yuto lifts him up, despite his protests of him being heavy, carrying him to his desk and placing him on top of it, noticing it’s been cleared off when it’s usually messy.

“What are you-”

“You. My desk. Now.” Yuto says huskily, loosening Ryosuke’s tie with each word, lowering his hands to his hips, squeezing.

Fuck.

Ryosuke swallows, licking his lips as he hazily looks into Yuto’s dark eyes, a glint of light as he waits for a response. He wonders how long Yuto had wanted this, all those hints and suggestive tones making sense.

And fuck does he want it too. 

“Here?” he says tentatively, shifting on the hard surface while knowing someone could return to the office if they forgot something.

“Yeah, think you’ll be okay?” Yuto murmurs against him, unbuttoning his shirt and Ryosuke whines.

“Damn it I need you right now.” annoyed at how easily he gave in.

It’s not like he’ll be able to wait until they get to one of their places without embarrassing himself at this point.

“I can tell from how you look at me.” Yuto breathed out, hands playing with Ryosuke's shirt hem, fingers ghosting over his skin underneath.

“How else was I supposed to react when you’ve been teasing me all day, _sir_ ?” Ryosuke counters, shivering as Yuto guides his shirt off, pushing him down on the desk, feeling cool against his hot skin, Yuto's hands gripping his thighs.

The desk is small compared to him, his head and legs hanging off as Yuto’s mouth drags along his jaw, neck, collarbones, stopping at his chest. Yuto presses his tongue against a nipple, gently pulling with teeth, rolling and pinching the other between two fingers, switching between each nub. It drove Ryosuke crazy with the slight pain, hips involuntarily twitching upwards, trying to feel friction but Yuto held him down.

“You always did seem to enjoy this.” Yuto blows cool air over both his nipples before trailing kisses down his stomach, unbuckling his pants and pulling it down.

It was thrilling, being naked and fucked where he’s spent months working, where other people that he doesn’t bother to get close to anymore are around on a constant basis. He won’t be able to look at Yuto’s desk the same way afterwards, memories of the pleasure haunting him as he works, trying to act normally.

But God, this will be worth it.

Ryosuke covers his mouth with his hand, trying to keep himself quiet as a larger hand wraps around his growing erection, slowly, loosely stroking. Even if the door is locked, it isn’t completely soundproof. He would die if someone heard him moaning.

“Mmm Yuto?” A wet tongue licks up his cock, stopping right before the head, and Ryosuke cries out, twisting his head up, far too long since someone has given him a blowjob. “Why are you the one sucking me?”

He assumed that he would be the one submitting to Yuto in this setting, expecting to be the one with a cock in his mouth, not that he’s complaining about this situation. 

"I want to please my cute worker, is that okay?" Yuto looks at him with dark eyes. 

He can't refuse that.

“Do whatever.” Ryosuke throws his head off the desk again, trying to hide his face, but he feels Yuto’s lips curve against him, knowing exactly what kind of face he has when he wins.

He lets out a low moan as Yuto just barely takes his tip in, tongue swirling around with a hand massaging his base. Yuto’s other hand lightly scratches his inner thigh as he takes more into his mouth, slow and teasing. While it didn’t feel like enough, the intensity still felt overwhelming with each little movement, craving more.

But Yuto wasn’t giving it to him.

He felt powerless with his blank mind, proof of how much Yuto affects him with his control. One of his hands scramble around, trying to find something to hold onto for his sanity, finding one of Yuto’s hands relocated from his thigh, gripping it tightly.

“Yuto, please. More.” he whines as Yuto rubs him against the inside of his cheek.

“I thought I could do whatever?” Yuto teases, ghosting lips and breathing hot air on him. "Please what?"

"Fucking hell Yuto, please just suck me." Ryosuke groans, struggling to sit up with Yuto’s help, eyes following him.

With one hand still holding onto Yuto, he has to steady himself by gripping the edge of the desk with his other hand, trying not to push himself back into Yuto's mouth. Yuto grins as he takes in more of his cock than before in his mouth, starting a quick pace, filling the room with lewd sounds. Oh, God, Ryosuke’s face contorts, mesmerized by the way his cock disappears in those wet lips repeatedly, saliva glistening as his hand twists around where his mouth wasn't, eyes piercing him. He groans out loud and Yuto moans around him, increasing his speed, realizing that's what Yuto wanted from him, letting out more sounds to spur him on, trembling under his spell.

He's wrapped around Yuto's fingers. Quite literally.

When Yuto pulls off, he stands up for a few kisses on his lips and Ryosuke feels dizzy, letting Yuto play with him before guiding him back down on the desk, pulling his body closer to him so his head isn’t falling off. Yuto opens a cabinet, pushing away some materials before taking out a small bottle of lube and a condom.

“You had this planned?” Ryosuke questions as Yuto lubes up a few fingers.

“Just in case.” Yuto winks, leaning down to prod his hole with a lubed finger.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You love me.”

Ryosuke’s response was only a gasp as Yuto pushed a finger inside him, gently opening him up. He urges Yuto to do it quickly, desperate for his cock to be inside him after being teased all day, relieved when Yuto inserts another finger and thrusts his fingers in deep, a rougher stretching than he was expecting.

Looks like someone’s getting impatient too.

With each finger added, stretching him wider, they feel more amazing inside him, thinking of all the times Ryosuke has watched those fingers move on his keyboard, easily finding the right spots in him as expected, massaging him and sending pleasure through his body.

A fleeting thought of Yuto playing games pops into his head, his hands flicking across the keyboard or controller, thinking about how Yujikku is controlled by these very fingers.

And now his own pleasure is being controlled.

Yuto removes his fingers from him, wiping his fingers on his pants before lowering them just enough to release his cock, stroking himself a few times before rolling the condom on. Ryosuke holds his breath as Yuto positions himself, the two giving a nod of consent before Yuto pushes in.

Fuck.

There’s too much pressure as Yuto pushes each inch further in and Ryosuke claws at the smooth desk with the slight burn of the bigger stretch after the rushed fingering, trying to grab onto something again, but Yuto only chuckles, amused at him. He tries to slow down his breathing as Yuto bottoms out, feeling full, but fitting perfectly inside him, molded tightly around Yuto.

Incredible.

“Look at you, so pretty with my cock buried in you.” Yuto mumbles, holding down Ryosuke’s arms when he attempts to cover his blush, amused with how Ryosuke withered under him. “I like seeing your cute face, but too bad my camera is across the room... I didn’t take any photos last time either.”

He bites his lip, wondering what photos of them having sex would look like and how fucking hot that would be, keeping their memory forever. He was about to mention that he wants that, but Yuto shifts and the thought disappears, needing Yuto to stay inside him, wiggling to get him to move to no avail, Yuto clearly enjoying watching him squirm. He sighs as Yuto leans down to drag his teeth along his neck, biting softly.

“Yuto be careful.” Ryosuke whispers, yet he tilts his head to give him better access. “The last time you left some marks on me, we got caught.”

“So?” Yuto pulls away to look him in the eyes. “They all know we’re together now.”

Ryosuke’s eyes gloss over, whimpering and beckoning Yuto to kiss him, to mark him, to claim him. Yuto smirks as he won so easily, latching his lips back onto his neck, biting and using his tongue to sooth them, sucking where Ryosuke whimpered the most.

“Please move, sir.” Ryosuke chokes out, desperate for more friction. “Please fuck me.”

Yuto gives his neck a few more quick bites, sucking briefly before complying with his request. He hooks his legs on his shoulders, pulling nearly out and fully back in, repeating his actions slowly but deeply at first, gradually quickening his pace. Fingers press into his hip while another hand squeezes his thigh, adding to the sensations surging through Ryosuke, gritting his teeth as Yuto pushes in, noises streaming uncontrollably out his mouth.

"A-ah!" It's hot, too hot. Burning. But with each touch, each movement he's lost. It's better than the first time, he thinks, Yuto already knowing exactly where to push, exactly where to touch with the right amount of pressure where it hurts just the right amount, forgetting what full words are. "Y-Y-Yu-"

He could come just from Yuto's intense stare alone, forcing himself to break eye contact, wandering to the side and he notices Yuto's computer, remembering that they were at the office. He never thought he would do something like this here, the thrill of being caught fueling him again. Hell, he might even _want_ someone to catch them, the thought nearly making him come on the spot. There's nowhere safe he can look.

He makes a low sound, the idea turning him on more and he's about to warn Yuto he's close, when he pulls out. His whine turns into a yelp as Yuto scoops him from the desk, repositioning him so he’s straddling him on his chair, squeezing his thighs.

“Show me what you can do, Yamada Ryosuke.” Yuto whispers huskily into his ear, tongue playing with his earring, and Ryosuke’s weak, nearly breaking apart right there.

He takes a deep breath to maintain himself, summoning his strength up as he looks into Yuto's eyes, challenging him as best he could in his pleasured state.

“Sure thing, Nakajima Yuto.”

He wraps his arms around Yuto’s neck, raising his hips up, letting Yuto guide his cock back inside, sliding down easily with a groan. He rolls his hips with Yuto deep inside, taking pleasure from the way Yuto’s lip twitches as he begins to move. While he feels more in control in this position, he’s still dizzy with pleasure, one of Yuto's hands on his hip, directing himself to his sweet spot with each bounce, Yuto thrusting upwards as he sinks down. The other hand tangled in his hair, twisting and pulling, sensations tingling everywhere on his body, feeling the strain in his thighs, but the pressure made it feel even better.

“You’re doing so well.” Yuto connects their lips together, biting at each other and Ryosuke loses what little control he had with his attack, lost in Yuto's taste. “Damn it Ryosuke you feel good.”

Ryosuke claws Yuto's back, holding onto his suit, the smooth fabric rubbing against his bare chest, a low sound vibrating against his lips. He scratches the back of Yuto's neck and he yelps as nails dig into his hip and fingers yank his hair.

So, so good. 

“Yuto, fuck, I’m going to come.” Ryosuke gets out between kisses, struggling to keep himself together. He wanted to make Yuto come first, but he can’t wait for his own release, falling apart because of Yuto. “Touch me and make me come, please sir?” he requests, wanting his hand back around him.

Though he doesn’t want to admit it’s because he can’t move his arms away from Yuto’s neck, afraid he’ll collapse. Thankfully, Yuto does take a hold of him, stroking him firmly in time with his thrusts, heightening his pleasure. He grits his teeth, mumbling a stream of curses mixed with Yuto’s name.

"I love every single fucking thing about you."

Perfect, _perfect_. His mind blanks, stomach twisting and skin burning, gasping as he comes, burying his face into Yuto's neck, muffling his sounds with Yuto thrusting him through his orgasm, so, so pleased. There’s only Yuto on his mind as his body slumps with the loss of energy, whispers into his ear and breathing in Yuto's scent, dizzying him, his orgasm feeling never ending with their bodies still connected.

"Ryosuke I'm close." Yuto shifts to pull out, but Ryosuke holds onto him.

"Just c-come inside." His breathing uneven, still high from his orgasm. "Please."

Yuto swallows, but he speeds up his thrusts into him, trying to reach completion quickly. Ryosuke’s mouth falls open at the pain laced pleasure from his sensitivity, tight around him, encouraging Yuto.

"Oh, fuck. Ryosuke." Yuto whispers, biting a patch of skin on his shoulder hard, as he pushes deep into him, stilling.

Ryosuke groans out Yuto's name as feels him come, feels him twitch inside him and he clenches around him, moving up and down slightly to help Yuto through his orgasm, the two breathing hard. The two of them were completely satisfied, sharing lazy kisses as Yuto relaxed, gently pulling out and massaging Ryosuke's butt, knowing that he'll probably be a bit sore tomorrow, especially his thighs. They smile through half lidded eyes, nuzzling their noses together, enjoying their soft, gentle caresses, feeling loved and cared for.

He can’t ask for anything more than this.

“You've impressed me yet again, Ryosuke, I love what you can do.” Yuto presses a kiss to his nose and it all makes Ryosuke beam.

“Are you talking about my work or me in general?” Ryosuke teases, remembering Yuto’s words.

“You still have work to do, but both are satisfactory for now." Yuto grins. "Of course, I'm willing to guide you if you think you can handle it." he purrs.

"Challenge accepted, sir." he replies. “So, does that mean I can have a promotion soon?”

Yuto laughs.

“ _Come_ again next time and we’ll see about it.”

~~~

After they clean themselves up, panicking as they scrub Ryosuke’s come off Yuto’s suit and attempt to hide Ryosuke's darkening marks on his neck with makeup, Ryosuke doesn’t want to part ways with Yuto just yet, wanting to spend more time with him even if they have tons of work to finish since they both hardly got anything done during the day.

Other than themselves.

They're walking side by side when Yuto's fans squeal and wave at them, Ryosuke blushing as Yuto radiates as he waves back with one hand, the other grabbing onto his hand, embarrassing him even further as fans whistled at them. Glaring at Yuto did nothing for him, making his heart pound even more with how he smiled brightly at the small crowds of fans. He doesn’t think he’ll get used to being associated with this ray of light anytime soon, but he’ll work on it, not sure if he’s at the point to wave back just yet.

"Ew, he’s actually gay? That’s gross and weird." a girl exclaims from the side, making Ryosuke frown.

"Actually I'm bi but okay." Yuto calls back.

He squints at Yuto, seemingly unbothered by the comment, as he continues to smile and wave at the cheering girls. But he can tell by the way Yuto squeezed his hand tighter that he was hurt on the inside, trying to find the girl who made that comment.

"You should at least date someone that doesn’t look like a baby." She scoffs and Ryosuke pinpoints her in the crowd. "You're better than that."

Ryosuke bites his lip but he swallows as he reaches up, cupping Yuto's face and pulling him down for a quick kiss, oohs and ahhs in the crowd. He would have kissed him for longer but he felt his photo being taken, and as he decided himself, only Yuto can take his photo.

"Good thing he isn’t dating a baby like you then, huh?" Ryosuke sticks his tongue out at the girl, mouth open in shock. “Since you obviously don’t care about him being happy with the one he loves, which, ahem, is _me_.” he growls, trying to ignore the whistles of the crowds.

He knows that people will be talking about his outburst on social media, gripping Yuto’s hand tighter, raising it up to make the point of their locked fingers together, pulling Yuto in the direction of his apartment, wanting all the fans to disappear so he can have Yuto all to himself.

Okay, maybe he’s a little jealous of the attention he’s giving the fans.

"Ryosuke?"

"Hm?" Ryosuke stops and turns to Yuto, hoping he didn't go too far but he's met with a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for standing up for me. I love that about you, how you do whatever it takes to get what you want and never stop until you do."

Yuto smiles, a beautiful genuine smile unlike the one before, and he’s blinded with how it dazzles in the fading sunset, sparking a fire in his heart and he feels like he’s falling in love all over again. If that’s what he can see everyday when they’re together, then he doesn’t care about what the fans see or do, because they don’t get to experience this kind of look of his, the true feelings of Yuto.

"Sure thing whatever." he turns and drags Yuto again, hoping he doesn't see his blush.

Ah, he's screwed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me because I couldn't hold myself back from writing this smut as the setting calls for it and it's just fun to write 😅 every time I publish one of my smut scenes I'm extra nervous 😬
> 
> Anyways thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this one... one chapter left :O


	23. Chapter 23

“Testing. Testing. Can you hear me now? Over.”

“Did you guys hear a voice? Over.”

“Not at all, how about you, Dai-chan? Over.”

“Nope. Yabu? Over.”

“Nah, how about-”

“Okay, I get it I’m sorry I was late. I’m here now so we don’t have to cycle through everyone again.” Yuto interrupts with a sigh.

There’s 9 of them in one discord call and Yuto is bored of each person going through with their gag of ignoring him because he was 10 minutes late to their Kemono and Chibis alliance raid once again. He’s never late on purpose, but he tends to lose track of time when he’s with Ryosuke, having just returned to their home after a quick outdoors photo shoot he had whined the sun was too good not to.

Within months of their relationship, Yuto and Ryosuke began staying over each other’s apartments to make it easier for them to head to Alpha Games together and Ryosuke can help manage Yuto’s social media accounts, learning how to use his cameras and work with video and photo editing. And of course Yuto can have Ryosuke’s home cooking and cuddle whenever he wants.

It took another year to decide on buying a home together, settling comfortably fast, feeling as though they’ve already lived together for years despite having the house for only a few months together. Thankfully, they had the money from their jobs to splurge on everything they wanted to make the home as comfy as possible, such as custom gaming computers for the both of them and a nice 836k yen mattress.

“Why doesn’t Ryosuke ever get bullied for being late?” Yuto questions.

“Because they love me!” Ryosuke yells loudly, deafening Yuto and his friends over their discord call plus the echo from the room next door.

Ryosuke had wanted to get sound proof coverings for the walls of their separate gaming rooms so he doesn’t disturb him with his yelling while gaming, but Yuto finds listening to him endearing. In the end, Yuto won the bet of who could eat the most mini cupcakes in 10 minutes.

“But I love you the most!” Yuto announces louder, making sure Ryosuke can also hear him through the walls.

“Yuto, you know I love-”

“Are we ready to go live yet?” Yabu cuts in with a cough. “Or else we’ll never be able to start because of the two lovebirds.”

But it just means they get to yell at each other whenever they want.

After some more light hearted bickering, they finally prepare themselves to start streaming their Jump Party raids. Yabu is in charge of showing the Kemono side of the raid, consisting of Yabunbun, Piitan, Yuyaseba and Inoteri while Ryosuke is in charge of showing the Chibi’s side, consisting of Kurusuke, Yujikku, Sabonen, Daikingu and Keitoru.

People were surprised when Yujikku left Kemono, worried he had quit being a competitive player after joining a not as strong guild. But they were relieved when the two guilds formed an alliance, participating in large scale dungeons together. After Yuto convinced Ryosuke to start streaming, people began to become fond of the Chibis, gaining dozens of applications to their guild. Ryosuke was skeptical, but with Yuto as a co-leader of the guild like his other close friends, they grew their guild with experienced, active players.

“The Chibis are being awfully slow with their killing today, don’t you think?” Inoo giggles as the members from Kemono already finished their part of the dungeon, waiting for the Chibis to finish theirs before they could continue to the boss.

Inoo became interested in Jump Party after meeting the “legendary Yama-chan” in person, easily growing in rank with Yuya’s and the rest of the guild’s help. He had a blast making fun of Ryosuke when he discovered he figured out Yujikku’s cover.

Ryosuke will never, ever hear the end of that.

“Sabonen is having too much fun leading mobs to Daikingu and not healing him until he gets dangerously low.” Keito explains, holding back a laugh as he sits back and watches Daiki's character struggle with the surrounding mobs.

Keito had always known Yuto was Yujikku, being his friend, secretly playing until he reached the max level. Once he did reach his goal, he surprised Yuto by whispering to him that Keitoru was him all along. Yuto immediately invited him to the Chibis’ guild, surprising the others as well. Chinen and Daiki were excited to meet the English boy Ryosuke talked tons about before, further embarrassing him and also Yuto as they discussed how obvious they both were in love with each other from the beginning.

“Help me! Heal me! Do something!” Daiki wails, his shield breaking as his health drops to the red zone again.

“More monsters? Sure!” Chinen chirps, teleporting away from Daiki after leading more monsters to him. “I would usually lead mobs to Kurusuke since he’s easier to kill without the defense of a boulder like Dai-chan, buuuut _someone_ is standing on guard next to him so I can’t get close enough to kill him.”

“These mobs are easy, c’mon Dai-chan you can do it!” Yuto encourages, his character positioned practically on top of Ryosuke’s, clothed in their full matching outfits while shooting any mobs that come close from a far range with his arrows. “Look, the chat is also cheering you on.”

“You know I can fend for myself, right?” Ryosuke tries to run off but Yuto follows right on his tail.

“That’s what you said yesterday but then you died 2 minutes into our golem boss run.” Hikaru counters. “I had to revive you that time since Sabonen used his revive skill on Yuyaseba already.”

“Wait, we’re not supposed to talk about that.” Yuya sulks. “I swear I was just a pixel away from escaping the earthquake.”

“These two knights are making our lives as priests so difficult, right Piitan?” Chinen clicks his tongue, shaking his head.

“Right? I thought the knights are supposed to be the main DPS but all they do is die.” Hikaru adds, disappointed. 

“I can fend… okay maybe I can’t sometimes.” Ryosuke admits, pursing his lips. “We knights do a ton of damage! Except when we’re dead.”

“Speaking of being dead, you all are the worst.” Daiki finally sighs as his tombstone appears over his character, everyone clapping for his efforts.

“Survived longer than I expected, but make sure you don’t die again while my revive is on cooldown.” Chinen scolds as he uses his skill to bring Daiki back to life. “And that goes to everyone.”

“Daikingu, you’re making our run longer and more dangerous.” Yabu sighs.

“You make it sound like it’s my fault I died.” Daiki complains, his character coming back to life and running towards the other Chibis to lead the monsters to them.

When the Chibis finally finish their part of the dungeon, the 9 alliance members jump into the boss fight carefully, knowing they only have Piitan’s revive skill for the time being until Sabonen’s skill goes off cooldown. In the end, they barely defeat the boss, completing the dungeon with only a few members left alive. They do a few more dungeons together, trying to be serious but they end up messing around, trying to see who can survive the longest going solo.

Which, of course, did not go well.

In the middle of their stream, they take a break, stopping to talk to each other and the chat.

“Oh, someone said they’re excited for Ryosuke’s next game to be released.” Keito points out.

“Really?” Ryosuke perks up. “Thank you so much for supporting my- I mean Yuto and I’s games! We’ll have another teaser soon!”

Ryosuke had released his first game idea to the public last year, gaining a ton of support as he and Yuto are in the works for the next game. Ryosuke had been offered a position to be a section leader for game development like Yuto, hesitant at first, but Yuto causally challenged him who would be better liked among employees so he jumped at the job.

He couldn’t have done it without Yuto’s support over the last couple of years together and also with Alpha Games, which has changed drastically over the years. While still not one of the best, people have been talking about the competition with other gaming companies. With the increase in people interested in applying, they had to get a bigger space with the increase of employees.

Yuto is grateful for the changes in himself with Ryosuke’s support as well. His work ethics have changed as well, learning to trust other people more with completing work, no longer killing himself with taking it all for himself and constantly staying for overtime, having more free time and spending it with his boyfriend. 

Eventually, Yuto became comfortable enough to reveal that he plays games often under the name of Yujikku on his YouTube channel, announcing that he wants to connect with fans more. He was worried about the reveal, but his fans were lovely and supportive if he didn’t want to stream or force himself to upload videos. He had uploaded a couple of videos of him and Ryosuke playing casual games together, increasing interest in the game development they work on when they couldn’t help themselves from discussing tech while messing around.

As long as he had Ryosuke by his side, he was perfectly okay with fans knowing who Yujikku is.

“It’s going to be a great game.” Yuto says excitedly. “It’s about this guy who-”

“Hey!” Ryosuke interrupts. “No spoilers.”

“Just one little tiny itty bitty spoiler?” Yuto whines.

“I will come over there and personally shut you up.” he narrows his eyes.

“Okay so the main character finds-”

“YUTO!”

“Hm?” Yuto blinks as he hears shuffling. “Oh is he… yeah I hear his footsteps coming over. Oh hi there Ryo- AAAH!”

“Don’t kill our Yujikku, we still need him!” Yabu calls out.

Everyone is laughing over listening to the two bickering through Yuto’s mic, Ryosuke shaking his shoulders as Yuto makes strangled noises, occasionally letting out a “help”.

“Everyone in chat wants a YouTube video of you two fighting.” Chinen announces. 

“Don’t lie, Chi... you just want that... for yourself.” Yuto says out of breath, grabbing onto Ryosuke’s wrists to stop him.

“What did you say?” Ryosuke asks, unable to hear without his headphones, shoving his face next to Yuto’s as Yuto pushes one side of his headset to the side for Ryosuke to listen.

“YouTube video of whatever you two were just doing to each other please.” Chinen repeats. “I can’t just have the sounds of you two shuffling around while gasping and yelping every so often, can I?”

“Ah so you admit it’s only for you!” Ryosuke points out. “Don't make it sound filthy, I was just shaking him back and forth.”

“Are you sure about that?” Inoo says, clearly suspicious of them. “What else did you do to him to make him out of breath and make those noises?”

“He’s just being overly dramatic.” Ryosuke says quickly, glaring at Yuto’s grinning face. 

“Don’t listen to him, he just tried to choke me.” Yuto fake cries.

“Yuto, this is going to get clipped and put on the internet.”

Yuto thinks for a moment before speaking.

“Guys, Ryosuke just tried to gently choke me for fun, not kill me.”

“That... somehow makes it sound even worse.”

“Can you two keep whatever happens in your private home not on stream?” Yuya coughs loudly.

“Yeah Ryosuke.” Yuto teases him, poking at his side.

“I wouldn’t choke him privately! He’s the one-” Ryosuke stops himself, narrowing his eyes at Yuto. “He’s the one not having dinner tonight.” Ryosuke starts to turn away but Yuto hugs him from behind, pulling him onto his lap.

“But Ryoosuke.” Yuto whines, Ryosuke forcing himself to keep his head away to not look at him, knowing the exact face he has.

But Yuto kisses his cheek and Ryosuke ends up turning his head, instantly weak at the way Yuto pouts with wide, puppy eyes. Ryosuke sighs, placing a gentle kiss on his nose.

“You’re insufferable.”

“You love me.”

“Okay so?”

“So can I have dinner tonight?”

“... Maybe. As long as I can have you after dinner.”

“You know I love-”

“Please remember you both are unmuted and we’re still live to thousands of people.” Yabu points out. “And we still have to finish our dungeon runs.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t personally mute them yet.” Hikaru snickers. “Everyone loves them and thinks they're cute anyways.”

Yuto and Ryosuke exchange a look before laughing, apologizing to their friends and the stream. Before Ryosuke returns to his own stream, he gets another quick kiss from Yuto, his own personal way of getting energized for more games.

God, he’s so lucky.

At the end of their stream and saying goodbye to everyone, the two head over to their shared bedroom, cuddling together with Ryosuke’s head on Yuto’s chest as they begin to review the photos they had taken before their raids.

“You did great as always.” Yuto kisses his hair, clicking through the photos. “I really like this one.”

He points to the current photo where Ryosuke is kneeling by a bed of flowers with a handmade flower crown while looking up at the camera, sparkling eyes crinkling. His hair is slightly messy from the breeze (and from when Yuto had ruffled it earlier) and Yuto touches the screen, wishing he could reach into the photo to touch the soft locks to tuck behind his ear or cup the soft warm cheeks he loves so much.

But best of all, Ryosuke had his favorite enchanting, gentle smile he fell in love with ever since he first saw it on accident when Ryosuke was alone and finishing up work during his second week of working with him, feeling like ages ago. The bright smile where his eyes could light up the whole night sky when he does something he's happy with.

A smile he needs to protect forever.

Ryosuke tends to look away when he smiles like that and Yuto has a collection of his side profile, not that he’s complaining, but at some point Ryosuke began to face him with that smile more often, Yuto sometimes forgetting to take a photo because he's so spellbound by his beauty.

“Why?” Ryosuke always likes hearing what Yuto has to say about why he likes his photos of him, often going into great detail and explaining every little pixel he could, wanting to see what Yuto sees with his eyes that he can't himself.

“Because I like every photo where you’re on your knees and under me- ow.” he gets elbowed, Ryosuke making a face at him. “Hey, you made the joke first when we were there.”

It didn’t take long for Yuto to point out that Ryosuke definitely had a sort of semi public kink after their endeavors in the office, though he hates to admit it, always pushing him away whenever Yuto forgets and shows PDA in front of others. But sometimes Ryosuke gives in, unable to wait until they get home.

Those photos will always stay private.

"I swear Nakajima Yuto." Ryosuke narrows his eyes. 

"I'm kidding, I could write a 10k word essay on how much I like this photo." Yuto turns serious, ruffling his boyfriend's hair. Ah, sometimes he forgets the joy of being able to touch this photo perfect man in real life. "Can I post this one?"

As Ryosuke promised, he's become an official model for his Instagram, appearing often in his feed alongside other models who pay him for his work and his usual aesthetic photos. Everyone loves Ryosuke, thousands of comments telling him he's beautiful and Yuto has to agree he's lucky to have him.

Even in his YouTube videos, people want Ryosuke to appear more or have his own channel for his cooking challenges, but Ryosuke just uses Yuto’s, too much effort in making a whole new separate channel when they can continue to do all those cheesy boyfriend challenges on one channel. With the help of Ryosuke, they’ve been able to think of creative ideas and Yuto feels like he’ll never run out of ideas now, not having to bother his other friends on advice on what to do next.

Ryosuke agrees to post the photo on Instagram, standing up to go to Yuto's computer to edit it as they usually do to fix lighting issues and such, but Yuto holds onto his sleeve to pull him back down. 

"We don't need to edit this one, I like the photo exactly how it is, you look as beautiful and perfect as you always do." Yuto gushes. "I want to post it right away."

Ryosuke frowns, skeptical as he scrutinizes the photo, trying to see the negatives as Yuto easily counters him.

"What about the way that leaf is looking out of place on my head?"

"It matches the nature theme, you’re like a royal flowery prince that controls leaves too."

"And how about that mark on my skin?"

"It highlights the contrast of the shadows on your skin, making you beautiful."

“And what about-”

“Ryosuke.” Yuto ruffles his hair. “You’re perfect just the way you are, you don’t need to hide yourself.”

Ryosuke attempts to hold back a smile but Yuto could tell he’s beaming inside, melting Yuto’s heart. Yuto remembers those words because Ryosuke had told him that one day when he was struggling with dealing with his fans one day, stressed over his self image online.

But with those words, he remembers how he had always believed that Ryosuke was special to him shortly after seeing him for the first time. How he believed that Ryosuke would tell him what he needed to hear and is the partner in crime he’s always been looking for to support his dreams.

He could never be happier or more comfortable to be himself around Ryosuke.

Eventually Ryosuke runs out of things to question and allows Yuto to post the photo, completely unedited. They think of a caption together, when Ryosuke takes Yuto's phone to type. It wasn't exactly a caption that Yuto would have thought of, but his heart swells from reading it. For because he didn't write it, he likes it better.

“Aren’t you a romantic poet?” Yuto teases him, poking his cheek after he posts it.

“I’m not but whatever.” Ryosuke stands up. “Hurry up, I want to cook dinner.”

“Isn’t it a little early for dinner?” Yuto glances at the clock.

Ryosuke just blinks at him.

“The earlier we have dinner, the faster “after dinner” is.” he replies, leaving the room.

It takes a moment for it to click in Yuto’s mind, grinning as he hops out of bed, following the one he loves.

He can’t wait for “after dinner” too.

“The reason that flowers bloom beautifully,

that leaves flutter gently,

that shadows are no longer scary

is because of you,

lighting my life with your love.”

~~~

“How do you have room for all of that?” Yuto’s eyes widen at the large strawberry sundae in front of Ryosuke by his side. "We just had a feast for a whole family."

“There is always room for dessert, Yuto.” he replies, waving his spoon at Yuto before taking a scoop of the soft ice cream into his mouth, sighing in enjoyment as it melts in his mouth.

"How are you so short but you eat so much?" Hikaru mumbles just loud enough for Ryosuke to glare at him across the table.

"Now now, I thought we agreed not to talk about Yujikku's small friend's height." Yabu lightly hits Hikaru’s shoulder.

"I can't believe you still call me that... In person." Ryosuke rolls his eyes. "Just because you three are taller," he stabs his spoon into his sundae. "Doesn't mean I can't kick your asses."

The four of them were out together at a small cafe for lunch, meeting up together for lunch to catch up in person and discuss their Jump Party plans every so often. Each of them calls this meeting by a different name:

Yabu: Important leaders and co-leaders Kemono and Chibis alliance meeting

Hikaru: The meeting where we always go off topic and never get anything done in time

Yuto: Grandparents and grandsons double date

Ryosuke: Food and video games

“You always make food look so enticing.” Yuto scoops one of the strawberries into his mouth, Ryosuke immediately protesting but too late in grabbing it back. Yuto nods as he chews the fruit, a hand holding Ryosuke back. “Mmm… tastes like strawberry.”

“Oh really?” Ryosuke glares at Yuto. “I would have never guessed that the beautiful fruit you STOLE from me would taste like strawberry, which is one of the best things to ever exist mind you.” he brings his sundae closer to his body, shielding it from more unexpected thievery.

“Stay like that, let me get a picture of this.” Yuto bends down to reach into his bag, pulling out his camera.

Ryosuke pouts as he poses protectively around his dessert, waiting until Yuto gives him the okay once he decides he's taken enough. This has been a common sight, always at least one photo of him being taken, not that he minds too much since the photographer is Yuto.

"Why don't you ever take photos of me?" Yabu complains, pouting as if he isn't the oldest one here. 

"Okay sure, just smile at the camera." Yuto points the camera at him. "Um, can you smile… naturally?"

"Yuto, I'm trying." Yabu replies awkwardly through his teeth.

"Just relax and do that cute smile where your eyes disappear."

"Like this?"

"That's… it's good enough." Yuto frowns, snapping a few.

Hikaru clears his throat, motioning Yabu to look at him while giving Yuto a side glance.

"Hey Yabu." he holds his ice cream cone in front of his face, covering it. “Am I ice cream? Because _cone_ -gratulations, I’m melting for you.”

Yabu begins to laugh at his joke, Yuto quickly taking as many photos as he could while Yabu is smiling naturally.

"I don't know what I would do without you, Hika." Yuto approves, pleased with how the photos came out, showing them to Ryosuke as the smaller man leans his head on his shoulder.

"I don't know what you mean but I agree with that statement." Yabu nods, confused as Hikaru shrugs innocently.

“You’d be a mess without me.” Hika sticks his tongue out at Yabu.

"It's me." Ryosuke whispers more to himself as the photo on Yuto's camera switches to the ones he just took of him and his dessert, completely disregarding the other two bantering across the table. "I want to take a photo of you."

"Now?" Yuto raises an eyebrow, brushing back his hair from his face. "I don't think I look so hot right now."

"You sound like me before you take any photo of me." Ryosuke rolls his eyes, prying the camera from his hands. "You look hot to me so shut up and smile."

Yuto just laughs, loving when Ryosuke is set on doing something and doesn’t stop until he gets it. He poses, his mind thinking of the lighting and angles even though Ryosuke is the one behind the camera. There aren't many photos of him, mostly videos and (bad) selfies, and Ryosuke has been trying to take more professional photos of Yuto to his delight. But he doesn't make it easy for him, moving around and making ridiculous faces as he tries to take a good photo of him.

"Is our little Yamada going to overtake Yuto in photography skills?" Hikaru hums, enjoying how the two laughed and messed around, Yuto's face pressed against the lens for a close up of his lips.

They both had forgotten that they weren’t alone, lost in their own world together, having too much fun with capturing their happy moments and adventures through their thousands of photos.

"Maybe in a few years." Yuto looks through the blurry photos as Ryosuke was laughing too hard while taking them. "These are like the first photos you took of me."

“They weren’t that bad! Isn't this one good?" Ryosuke points to the one good photo of Yuto when he was serious for exactly 2.3 seconds and the taller nods in approval. "See, look at how much I'm improving!"

"With all the practice being behind the camera while I film my YouTube, I would hope you're improving." Yuto teases, remembering the first time Ryosuke wanted to take a photo of Yuto using his cameras, not with his phone, a similar situation like today.

~~~

“Can I take a photo of you?” Ryosuke's mouth moves faster than his brain could stop him, Yuto's eyes widening. “It might not be as good as your photos though.” he adds sheepishly.

They were at Ryosuke's place, enjoying a home cooked dinner they made together (aka Ryosuke made most of it) and Yuto was taking photos of him messing around with their dessert when Ryosuke brought up the idea. 

“Try it!” Yuto says quickly, trying to hide his excitement as he pushes the camera into his hands, surprising Ryosuke as he tries to be gentle with it, not wanting to drop the expensive camera. “Just click that button to focus and then that one to adjust the brightness and contrast and then that one to take the picture.”

Ryosuke’s brows furrow, tilting his head at both the quick instructions and all the buttons on it, trying to remember which button did what as he aimed it at Yuto. Thankfully he’s watched and listened to Yuto talk about cameras for hours on end, having a feel for it. He looks through the lens, ready to laugh at Yuto not knowing what to do now that he's on the other side of the camera.

But instead of seeing Yuto awkwardly pose with something like a peace sign like he expected, his breath catches in his throat.

Even through the lens, Yuto is as handsome as ever, more aware of how his hair curls into place, a small pleasant smile on his face as he leans his face on a hand, soft eyes focused on him. His visuals are so perfect that he almost forgets that he's supposed to take a photo.

“You’re beautiful.” he says breathlessly. 

_Click._

Even though Yuto is so beautiful, Ryosuke frowns at the moment he just captured shown on the screen, a bright glare covering part of his face. He prefers the real thing, after all. He hands it back to Yuto, who chuckles at the photo a little.

“You can delete that, sorry I couldn’t take a better photo of you.” Ryosuke sighs, wishing he knew how to work with cameras more. “I swear I’ll get better if I practice more.”

Just so he could take photos of Yuto.

But Yuto shakes his head, admiring how the photo came out, his heart filling up with emotion that his boyfriend wanted to take his photo in the first place and wants to practice.

“I like how the glare makes me look like I’m glowing, it's a nice photo.” he praises.

Ryosuke studies the photo, and sure enough, it does seem like his face is radiating a kind of aura like an angel in disguise. Maybe the photo isn’t as bad at capturing Yuto’s beauty as he thought it was.

“I’ll keep it and label it as the first photo you took of me using one of my cameras.” Yuto continues, winking at him.

“Is that even necessary?” Ryosuke chuckles to hide his embarrassment.

“Absolutely. Maybe I'll look at this later and remember how good your cooking tastes today." Yuto hums. “I can’t wait until you start posting your own photos on my Instagram and people are like “wow Yuto this is great” but in reality it’s you.”

Ryosuke rolls his eyes, but his heart fills to the brim as he listens to Yuto bubbling in joy, going into close detail of what kind of photos he can try taking as a beginner to improve himself. 

Because he’ll do anything to show the world how beautiful Yuto is.

~~~

"Speaking of videos…" Ryosuke says slowly, interrupting his train of thought. "Don't we still need to edit one for tonight?"

Yuto's eyes widened, looking at the time. They spent too much time lying on the couch together before this meeting instead of editing like they were supposed to, pushing it off until afterwards because they make smart decisions. 

"Shit, sorry we need to leave." the two younger members stand up.

"It's okay, we're out of time for our meeting anyways." Yabu nods, giving them permission to leave.

"See you two next time in Jump Party this weekend!" Hikaru waves. 

"Thanks for the treat grandpas." Ryosuke adds a wink before the two rush away. 

"Yeah Jump Party- wait." Yabu blinks. "We forgot to talk about our next dungeon run!" he exclaims after them but they were already out the door.

"It's okay." Hikaru laughs, patting his back. "We never get what we need to get done at our meetings anyways."

~~~

“Ryosuke.”

Ryosuke glances up from his work desk, Yuto holding out a cup of coffee.

“Thanks, Yuto.” He spins his chair to face him, happily taking the cup from him. He forgot that he hasn’t drunk anything in hours since he's been so focused on his work, rubbing his eyes that had been glued onto his computer screen all day.

It’s getting late and he’s been working overtime since he told himself he would finish up the next teaser for their game, but he got too caught up in perfecting the aesthetic details that it’s taking him longer than he expected. He glances around, noticing the only ones remaining were the two of them, the room feeling eerily empty. It's oddly nostalgic with only the two of them here, used to having others around them lately with everyone pitching in to make the game a reality.

“You know this isn’t due for a check until tomorrow at midnight so you don’t have to finish this tonight, right?” Yuto gently flicks his forehead. “We can go home and rest now.”

“Ow.” Ryosuke pouts as he rubs the spot Yuto flicked. “I know, but I want to finish other work tomorrow. And what about you, why are you still here? You can go home first.” he counters.

“I’m here because I don’t want my boyfriend to stay here overnight and overwork himself as he usually does.” Yuto shakes his head, Ryosuke’s heart still fluttering at how much Yuto cares about him.

“I never overwork myself." he protests. "I don’t want to go home, I’m going to stay here and finish this.” Ryosuke crosses his arms, determined.

"Remember that time you stubbornly took on multiple projects?" Yuto raises an eyebrow. "And I found you collapsed at your desk and I had to carry you to my apartment?"

“I didn’t collapse, I was just tired and fell asleep.” he protests.

Ryosuke does remember that time before they moved in together when he was pushing himself to finish everything during a busy week like Yuto had always done, not sure when he had fallen asleep at his computer. He woke up in Yuto's bed the next day with a message from telling him to take a day off and stay at his place. When he was getting ready to go to work anyways, he got another message before he could leave from Yuto telling him if he sees him at the company, he won’t get any cuddles tonight.

So he gave in and stayed, bored with waiting for Yuto to return, using his computer to play games, acting as if he were Yuto. But he was found out quickly with how awkward he seemed playing characters he doesn’t normally play. When Yuto did finally return, Ryosuke got his cuddles and they ended up playing games into the night together, completely worth not working and waiting for him to return.

"I don't know how the hell you survived that week or any other time you did that." Ryosuke continues, slumping in his seat.

“I’m used to it.” Yuto shrugs.

“And you’re not going to face that kind of hell under my watch again.” Ryosuke mutters, wondering how many times Yuto had fallen asleep at his desk from exhaustion before he started helping him.

He remembers noticing Yuto’s eye bags covered up by his makeup everyday, sometimes poorer than other days. He remembers the day Yuto had fallen asleep on his shoulder within seconds. After he began to stay regularly for overtime when they aren't as close, he realized just how much work Yuto does on his own when no one else was around. So he tried doing what Yuto did and witnessed how draining it is himself, determined to break Yuto's stubbornness in taking on too much work.

Now, he’s happy that Yuto has been splitting up the work more evenly and Ryosuke’s been doing everything he can to help with both work here and also his social media accounts. And he doesn’t even mind doing it all for Yuto. He doesn’t mind pushing himself a bit for Yuto’s sake, because Yuto has also taught him a lot in both the company and with his hobbies.

Yuto sighs, reaching over to brush his hair from his eyes, letting his hand linger on his cheek, causing Ryosuke to blush at the contact.

“Seriously, Ryosuke, you look exhausted, you need some rest.” Yuto says softly. “I was terrified when you collapsed that day."

"Yuto, I just fell asleep it wasn't a big deal. But I am sorry for that." Ryosuke soothes, rubbing small circles on his hand cupping his cheek.

"I promise you that this work will still be here waiting for you tomorrow.”

This time Ryosuke sighs, looking at the computer to his side, knowing there was still quite a bit left to finish and realistically he couldn’t do it all tonight.

"I'm fine, just a little- dommh?!" lips were on his, cutting off his words.

But he smiles into it, feeling his muscles instantly relax, all the tension and weight lifted off his shoulders with the sweet, gentle touch from the one he loves. As Yuto pulls away abruptly, Ryosuke whines, trying to pull Yuto back closer but he just smirks, taking a step away.

"I'll give you another kiss if you put away your work for the night?" Yuto suggests, pinching his cheek.

"You think that's going to convince me, Nakajima Yuto?" Ryosuke frowns, letting Yuto play with his cheeks for a few seconds before swatting him away. 

"You mean it's not? Okay." Yuto shrugs, walking away. “I’ll be at my desk if you need anything.”

"Wait, you're not supposed to be doing work at this time." Ryosuke furrows his brows. “I don’t want you to overwork yourself.”

"What am I supposed to do when my boyfriend is being stubborn and won't accept my kisses?" Yuto wipes away a fake tear dramatically.

"Wha-what? That's not… UGH you win, come here." Ryosuke sighs with defeat, stretching his arms out. 

Yuto grins, rushing over and hugging Ryosuke while planting a kiss on his lips. 

"Victory tastes so, so sweet, Yamada Ryosuke."

Ryosuke sighs into the kiss, ignoring what he said as he melts into Yuto's arms, wrapping his arms around his neck to pull him in as close as physically possible.

Maybe this isn't so bad after all.

Better than working.

As they pull away, they stare dreamily into each other's eyes, and Ryosuke remembers just how much he loves Yuto. And he knows that Yuto is thinking the same with the bright, starry eyes he's giving him. He forgets there was a time he hated him with all his heart, forgets there was a time Yuto wanted to bring him down. The times where they butted heads, pushing and challenging each other.

But they learned to help each other, supporting both of their dreams together. He wouldn't be where he is now without the help of Yuto, both in real life and online when he knew him as Yujikku. He holds the two close to his heart, allowing him to grow and be free with how he can present himself. He's achieved a best friend, one that he can trust with everything and live the best life he could in joy while achieving his dreams.

Every step of the way.

Together, they begin to pack up, exchanging stories of their days with their employees, trying to see who had a tougher day with them. As Ryosuke goes to shut his computer down, he rereads the text on the last frame for the teaser he was working on for their game that will soon be ready for the first beta test.

_Parallel Universe: a world conceived of as co-existing with and having certain similarities to the known world but different from it in some fundamental way._

It’s a game Ryosuke thought of where the main character can travel between alternate universes, discovering more about themselves and the people around them as they work to solve the problems within said alternative universe.

When Yuto asked him if he wanted that kind of power in real life and if he wanted to meet alternative versions of himself or others, Ryosuke remembers that Yuto had asked him that before as Yujikku. His answer didn’t change that he doesn’t want to, but his reasoning changed.

Because out of every parallel universe he could be in, Yamada Ryosuke feels like the happiest and luckiest guy in existence that he’s in this one with Nakajima Yuto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's... completed. If you read this whole story, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support and for keeping up as this became much longer than I originally planned for! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it even if it was random at points 😘 If you didn't know yet, I have been editing or adding to previous chapters as I updated chapters as a heads up.
> 
> I'm going to miss this story as I hold it dearly to my heart, but I'll definitely write more 💕  
> So, a huge thank you again~


End file.
